


Ikanaide

by peaches88



Category: Banana Fish (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Ash Lynx Lives, Ash Lynx Needs A Hug, Ash Lynx and Okumura Eiji Go to Japan, Blood, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Okumura Eiji Needs a Hug, Protective Ash Lynx, any warnings in the show are probably fair game, i'll make a point to tag them specifically as they surface
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-13
Updated: 2021-01-04
Packaged: 2021-03-07 23:33:48
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 25,767
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26985994
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/peaches88/pseuds/peaches88
Summary: Ash and Eiji have been living a peaceful life in Japan for the past year. All of this ends with one phone call that beckons Ash back to New York City.
Relationships: Ash Lynx & Okumura Eiji, Ash Lynx/Okumura Eiji
Comments: 81
Kudos: 174





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hi everyone! I have plans for this to be a series. I don't know how long yet, and I'm still working out some details, but I thought I would go ahead and get the ball rolling with this first chapter. I hope you all enjoy!

Eiji knew that yesterday was too perfect.

He woke up to a multitude of kisses all over his face from Ash. They were light and ticklish on his sensitive skin.  
Eiji laughed, trying to push Ash away. “Stop! It tickles, and I also need to brush my teeth.” He opened his eyes to see Ash gazing at him. The golden morning light that filtered in through the window gave his blonde locks a natural backlit halo. Seeing how beautiful he looked, Eiji forgot how to breathe for a moment.

Ash smiled warmly. “If you want me to stop, you gotta get up. I have too much planned for today to just let you sleep the day away.” Noticing Eiji’s puzzled expression, Ash rolled his eyes. “Get up!”

Ash wrapped his arms around Eiji, pulling him upright. Eiji leaned into Ash’s chest once he was sitting all the way up.  
“What’s up with you today? You’re more…” Eiji tried to think of a good English word. “Chippy than normal.”

Ash laughed. “I think you mean _chipper_. And what, I’m not allowed to be happy?” He asked with a teasing tone.

Eiji huffed, and said, “You know that’s not what I meant.”

Ash planted one more kiss on Eiji’s forehead before pulling away and getting up. Eiji noticed he was already dressed. “You have thirty minutes; we have a train to catch.”

Eiji blinked hard. “A train? Where are we going? Ash this isn’t enough time- “  
Ash winked, walking out of the room. “Better get to it, sleepy head. You definitely need a shower. If you aren’t fast enough, I’ll have to take matters into my own hands.”

Eiji felt his face heat up. With a defiant tone, he said, “I’m perfectly fine on my own, thanks.”

And so, Eiji got ready for whatever Ash had planned for their impromptu Saturday date. Before Eiji knew it, they were getting on a train bound for none other than Eiji's hometown: Izumo. Realizing that they were visiting Eiji’s home together for the first time, he lit up with excitement as they boarded.

“Ash! This will be so exciting! You should have told me sooner; I would have told my family!”

Ash smiled at the childlike excitement plastered on Eiji’s face.

“Well, today, I’m sorta letting you take the lead on deciding what we do. You had been talking a lot about home recently, and you had also wanted to show me around so…” Ash trailed off, hoping he chose the right activity for the two of them.

Eiji grabbed his hand. “This is perfect. I’m already making a list of things we can do! We have to definitely visit the shrines, and we should make a stop by the beach, too!”

The train ride to Izumo felt like an eternity to Eiji. He had reached out to his mom, but she told him that the whole family was out for the weekend. Though this disappointed him a bit, he didn’t let it ruin his excitement for the day. It was so unlike Ash to make plans like these; he didn’t really like venturing out into cities these days. Eiji figured he felt like it was unsafe, and he didn’t really blame him for feeling that way.

The train finally came to a halt. Eiji looked over to Ash to tell him they wouldn’t get to visit Eiji’s family but was caught off guard by Ash’s expression. Ash was staring straight ahead, his expression tense. This was a far cry from the Ash that Eiji saw this morning—he looked a lot like he did back when they were in New York.

“Ash? Are you okay?” Eiji asked, concern filling his voice.

Ash blinked, and as if a switch were flipped, he looked at Eiji with a smile. “I’m okay, just lost in thought. Now let’s hurry off the train!”

Eiji hesitated for a moment, not entirely convinced. Ash got up and laced his fingers with Eiji’s. Ash started to tug on Eiji’s arm, trying to coax him to stand.

Eiji gave in, pushing his concerns to the back of his mind for the time being.

By the end of the day, Eiji had already forgotten about his anxiety. Ash made sure of it. Eiji spent the whole day dragging Ash from landmark to landmark. From the brightly colored shrines to the beautiful scenery, Eiji made sure to hit every high note. He was over the moon that Ash was finally able to see his home. Eiji even made sure to stop by his favorite restaurant.

After eating, the two walked around town. Eiji had one more place he wanted to take Ash: Inasa Beach. He made sure to save it for last.

The two got a taxi to the beach, and by the time they arrived, the sun was sinking lower and lower in the sky.

Although they had been walking around for hours, and their legs were incredibly sore, Eiji hopped out of the cab, incredibly energized upon seeing the scenic beach. Ash, a little more slowly, left the cab, walking over to meet Eiji.

Eiji’s dark eyes sparkled as he scanned the beach. Since it was well into fall at this point, there were very few beach goers.

Ash smiled as he watched him. “You’re the only person I know that would stop at the beach in October.”

Eiji nudged him playfully. “We’re going out on the sand, whether you like it or not. We have to watch the sunset.” After finishing this statement, Eiji took Ash’s hand and led them out onto the long shore.

The scent of salt became much stronger as they walked out onto the beach. A cold breeze was sweeping the shore, and the surf was rough. Eiji and Ash walked for a few minutes, and once they approached a large rock, Eiji plopped onto the sand.

Ash furrowed his brow. “Eiji, I’m definitely not sitting in the sand.”

Eiji frowned. “Grow up! It’s just a little sand!”  
Sighing, Ash sat reluctantly beside him. Eiji smirked as he got his way. It was only as Ash sat down that he started to really examine the large rock formation that they had decided to sit beside. He noticed that there was a wooden arch-like structure built onto the rock.

“In October of every year, all of the deities of Japan are invited to come to this beach. It is called ‘the month of the gods’ here in Izumo. This is unique to Izumo, and very special to the people who live here. When I was a kid, it was my favorite time of year. I would beg my mom to bring me to the beach, despite the cold weather,” Eiji said, smiling. “I would want to come to the beach to try and feel close to the gods.”

“Did you feel close to the gods when you visited?” Ash asked quietly.

Eiji thought for a moment. “I don’t really know. I like to think so.”

The two sat in silence on the beach, just listening to the wind and the surf crash into the shore. The sun had finally begun to set, turning the sky into a brilliant array of orange and yellows. Eiji couldn’t help but steal glances at Ash, observing how the colors melted into his skin and hair so beautifully. Ash seemed to notice, because he turned to face Eiji.

“Thank you for today,” Ash started, inhaling deeply. He seemed so peaceful in this moment.

Eiji shook his head. “No, I need to thank you. We wouldn’t have even come here if you hadn’t planned out a day trip.” Eiji smiled, and added, “To be honest, I think this might have been one of the best days of my life.”

Ash seemed stunned for a moment. After a moment, his expression melted into one that Eiji could only describe as soft. He looked as if he wanted to say something in that moment, but the feeling passed soon, and his expression returned to normal.

Eiji wanted to say something, too. He wondered if they were on the same page in their thinking. Eiji had wanted to say this for such a long time, but he was terrified of moving too quickly. He wanted Ash to be happy and comfortable, and he especially wanted him to initiate most intimate parts of their relationship. That way, Eiji would never worry that he rushed Ash into something he wasn’t ready for yet.

But he couldn’t help it. _I love you_. A phrase that he knew he meant with his entire being. But why was he so afraid?

Eiji was pulled back into the present by touch. Ash had cupped his face in his palm and was leaning in close. Eiji felt his heart almost stop. Ash could have such an abrasive personality sometimes, but Eiji would never in a million years describe Ash’s _touch_ that way. His touch was gentle and warm. And every time Ash kissed him, he felt that warmth radiate throughout his whole body. He and Ash had been dating for almost a year now—and yet, in these moments, it feels like their first kiss all over again. This was no exception. As their lips connected, Eiji felt that gentle warmth fill his body. That warmth he only felt when he and Ash were together. He forgot how cold the wind felt on the beach.

Ash pulled away; his pale skin tinged with pink. Eiji was certain he looked similar.

Ash smiled and stood up. He extended his hand toward Eiji, and said, “Let’s go home.”

Eiji took his hand, allowing Ash to lift him from the sand.

***

Eiji and Ash didn’t get home until late in the evening. Eiji was so tired he could barely keep his eyes open. He and Ash kicked their shoes off, not bothering to make sure their front step was neat.

“I’m beat,” Ash said, yawning.

Eiji nodded in agreement, catching Ash’s contagious yawn. “I don’t even know if I can make it to the bed without falling asleep.”

Ash smirked playfully. “Well, we definitely wouldn’t want that.”

Eiji tilted his head in confusion, but then let out a sound equivalent to a _yelp_ as Ash swept him off his feet (literally).

Eiji’s face was as red as a tomato “A-Ash! Put me down! You’ll drop me!”

Ash held Eiji bridal style, and began walking to the room. “I wouldn’t _dream_ of it!”

Eiji began to squirm a bit. “Put me down!!”

Ash at this point had already reached the bed, and said, “Well, if that’s really what you want, then fine.” On this note, Ash tossed Eiji onto the mattress.

Eiji landed with a thud, and feigned frustration as Ash laughed. Eiji grabbed a pillow a swung it at Ash’s torso. Ash made a small grunt as the pillow hit him.

“Are you challenging me? You know I’ll win,” Ash said deviously.

Eiji didn’t respond, and just swung again. Ash then grabbed a pillow of his own and the two had a brief battle in the room.

Ash won.

***

Eiji slowly opened his heavy eyelids. He blinked a few times, trying to orient himself. He had fallen asleep fairly abruptly, it seems; he was still wearing his day clothes. He sat up, rubbing his head. After his eyes adjusted to the darkness in the room, he looked over to the other side of the bed, looking for Ash. Eiji was alone in the bed.

He furrowed his brow in confusion, looking around the room. Ash was nowhere to be found. He decided to get up and investigate, assuming he probably was in the bathroom or something.

As Eiji approached the bathroom door, he heard a _zipping_ noise come from the living room.

He slid the door open quietly and peeked his head out slowly to see what was happening. In the living room, a single lamp was on, and Ash had a duffle bag in his hand. He was making his way to the front door.

Eiji slid the door open completely this time, letting it hit the wall. Ash jumped slightly at the _thud_ and turned around to face Eiji.

Eiji tried not to let his confusion or emotions overtake him. He stared at Ash, his eyes asking a million questions.

Ash didn’t hold his gaze for more than a few moments.

“Eiji…”

“What are you doing?”

Ash hesitated. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you.”

Eiji shook his head. “I don’t give a damn about being woken up, just... please, explain.”

Ash sighed. “I-“ he hesitated. “I have to go back to New York for a while.”

Eiji frowned. “New York? Did something happen?”

Ash nodded. “Alex called me a few days ago, said something’s not right. They need me to come back and help.”

_Intentionally vague._

“And you weren’t going to say goodbye?” Eiji asked quietly.

“We don’t say goodbye,” Ash responded, his tone somber.

Eiji felt frustration pricking his eyes. “We also don’t keep secrets.”

Ash’s expression was pained. “I’m sorry. I didn’t want to worry you. This is something I need to do alone.”

“ _Alone_?” Eiji asked in disbelief. “Ash, please don’t go back to New York. Or at least take me with you.”

Ash shook his head. “Absolutely not. I’m not putting you into danger again.” His tone was stern.

“How can you think this is okay? Just leaving in the middle of the night with not even a word. What do you think I would have done?” Eiji asked, not trying to stop his voice from shaking. He couldn't tell if he was more angry or sad.

“Eiji, I knew this would happen if I mentioned it. I knew you would not want me to go or try and come with me.”

Eiji noticed the tears from before had begun to fall. "Is that such a bad thing?" he asked. When Ash didn't respond, he said with a broken voice, “Ash. _Please._ Don’t go.”

Ash’s expression was so pained. Eiji knew he didn’t want to go.

"I have to.”

Ash dropped his duffle bag and walked over to Eiji. He wrapped his arms around him tightly. Eiji buried his face into Ash’s shoulder.  
“Eiji, promise me something. Please, _please_ don’t follow me. The threat is unknown right now. If you were to come, I wouldn’t be able to protect you like I could last time. And even more than that, I can’t bear for you to be in harm’s way again.”

Eiji was wordless. His mind and heart were racing—what if he didn’t come back this time?

Ash pulled away, putting his hands on Eiji’s shoulders. “Eiji, _please._ I need to hear you say it.”

Eiji hesitantly nodded. All he could do was be complacent. “I-I promise.”

Ash exhaled with relief. He checked his phone for the time, and then looked at Eiji again. “I have to go. I’m sorry.”

He removed his hands from Eiji’s shoulder, his stare lingering a moment longer. Ash wiped a tear from Eiji’s cheek, then turned to leave.

_Speak. You have to tell him now!_

Eiji opened his mouth, but no words came out. He begged the words to form in time.

But all he could do was watch as Ash walked out of the door, shutting it behind him.

His throat constricted, and he sank to the floor. He didn’t know how long he sat there, silently crying.

“I love you. Please, don’t go.”


	2. Chapter 2

Eiji woke up, laying on the hardwood floor of his and Ash’s apartment. He fell asleep at such an awkward angle, and his neck was killing him. He sat up, rubbing his neck. His head was throbbing, and his face was uncomfortably dry from crying. He looked around the room, seeing the lone lamp still on. Did he even remember falling asleep? Why was he out here again?

It was at this moment everything rushed back in one painful jolt. He felt his eyes burn with tears again, but he pushed down the urge to cry swiftly. He got up from the floor and quickly made his way to his phone. Ash might have reached out.

With trembling hands, he snatched his phone off the bed. He tapped the screen, but his phone stayed off.

“Dammit, where’s the charger?” Eiji frantically searched the room, too many thoughts in his pounding head. Ash was going back to New York. What if something had already happened on the way and he needed Eiji?

Finally locating the charger, he sat by the nearest outlet and plugged his phone in. Now, he waited.

“Calm down, Eiji. He obviously isn’t in New York yet. He’s fine,” Eiji said quietly to himself as he rubbed his temples. Ash probably had a connecting flight from the nearest city to their town to Tokyo. He was probably still in the air.

Eiji glanced at his still very dead phone and sighed. He might as well get ready for the day. He walked into the bathroom and turned on the sink, splashing cold water onto his face. The droplets hung on his dark hair. He looked into the mirror and saw his reflection. His eyes were bloodshot, and his normally even-toned skin was blotchy and puffy. He looked away from himself, feeling embarrassed.

_ Was that really the right call? Should I have just let him go like that? _

Eiji knew better than to worry about Ash in a fight. Ash was  _ good _ . Long before Eiji came into the picture, this was his life. He wasn’t going to pretend he knew better than Ash in these situations.

But what Eiji  _ did  _ know was that Ash is constantly carrying heavy burdens. The weight of the sins of himself and others are stitched into his very being, and he has never been able to let them go. If Ash thought that he had to die as penance, he wouldn’t seek help.

He knows this is true. He’ll never forget the phone call he had with Sing saying that Ash had been found in the library.

“He was… laying with the letter you wrote,” Sing said, hesitantly.

Eiji hadn’t said many words on this phone call. He couldn’t. He couldn’t feel anything but deep, crushing guilt. He was boarding a plane with Ibe while Ash was dying—no,  _ letting _ himself die—in the library.

When Sing had called him, they had just landed in Japan. Ibe was pushing Eiji’s wheelchair as they were on their way out of the airport. Ibe had been shooting worried glances at Eiji; he had no idea what was going on but was almost certain it had to do with Ash.

“Eiji? Are you there?” Sing had asked following a few moments of uncomfortable silence on the line.

“I’m coming back,” Eiji had said, grabbing the wheel of his wheelchair, causing Ibe to stumble at the abrupt stop.

Ibe had looked at Eiji with an incredulous stare. “Eiji, what is going on?”

Sing had made a few inaudible noises on the phone. “Eiji, calm down, he is going to be okay. The knife didn’t hit any vital spots, I wouldn’t be surprised if he wakes up in the next few hours.”

“It didn’t hit any vital spots?” Eiji had asked quietly.

Sing sighed with relief, misunderstanding the tone of the question. “Yes, he’s going to be just fine.”

Eiji had taken a few shaky breaths. Somehow, this news felt worse. If it didn’t hit any vital spots, he really was just letting himself bleed out. He wasn’t getting help. He wanted to die there.

“Don’t do anything rash, I’ll call you as soon as he wakes up,” Sing had told him. The call ended shortly after he said that.

Eiji had reluctantly heeded the advice. He allowed himself to be taken back home. He didn’t do anything rash.

He had never regretted anything more in his life.

By the time he spoke on the phone with Ash, he had lost all courage to confront him on why he had chosen to die. Hearing Ash’s voice again made Eiji lose his resolve, especially when Ash announced he was coming to Japan to visit.

Eiji was snapped out of the memory by his phone vibrating. He shot out of the bathroom immediately and ran to grab his phone. He quickly opened the notification, silently pleading to the gods that it was Ash explaining that this was just a misunderstanding, that he had decided to turn around and come home.

“Ei-chan, I can’t believe you visit home with that hot American boy when I’m not home…”

His sister. It was just his little sister.

He didn’t bother reading the rest of the message. He threw his phone on the ground and cursed loudly.

***

Ash rested the side of his head against the small airplane window. He kept his eyes on the clouds surrounding the airplane, occasionally catching a glimpse of the dark ocean below. The window was cold and damp with condensation, but he didn’t really mind it. He had made a distinct effort to not think about the conversation he had with Eiji. He was failing, for sure, but he was still trying. He had been traveling for hours with at least five more hours in the air.

In moments like these, Ash almost wishes he had brought headphones. There was far too much noise—a baby wailing with its mother shushing it, a couple giggling and whispering behind him, the squeaky wheels of the flight attendants’ cart; all on top of the droning of the plane’s engine. But Ash knew better than to let himself be unguarded right now: headphones almost felt like a death sentence. He was going right back into the lion’s den.

He sighed, sinking into his chair. He tried to shake the memory of Eiji’s expression. He almost hoped Eiji wouldn’t find the letter he had written in a miserable attempt to explain the situation.

_ The letter probably would’ve gone better than the conversation did at this point. _

Ash knew he looked like such an ass. I mean, sure he wasn’t the best at communication yet, but this wasn’t his best work. He hoped Eiji would forgive him when he came back.

He also hoped Eiji would stay put and listen to what he had said. He felt dread fill his body at the thought of Eiji following him. At that moment, Ash decided he would call Ibe when he landed to keep tabs on Eiji while he was away.

Ash’s eyelids felt as heavy as lead. He hadn’t slept well in at least 48 hours. He knew it was pretty unlikely that he was already being followed, but old habits die hard. He glanced around the cabin, not noticing anyone particularly suspicious. He also hadn’t felt watched at any point. Either he was fine, or he was dealing with someone  _ really  _ good.

Ash shrugged, remembering how he could sense when Blanca was watching him.  _ I’m better. _

Feeling a little confident, he allowed himself to close his eyes and rest for the remainder of the flight.

***

Ash woke up to turbulence. It didn’t take him long to orient himself—he looked out of the window, noticing the ground was much closer. A flight attendant was speaking over the intercoms, explaining that they were landing soon. He rubbed his eyes and stretched.

The plan was for Alex to meet him outside of the airport. It would be then that he would be armed with a gun for the first time in about a year.

_ Eiji wouldn’t like that. _

Ash shook his head, dismissing the thoughts about Eiji.

Within no time at all, Ash was walking through JFK, weaving through crowds of people. He felt incredibly tense; Alex hadn’t told him very much of what was going on. All he knew at this point was that members of the gang were being targeted in killings. Other than being in Ash’s (former) gang, there was no motive or connection. Initially, Alex called to let Ash know what was going on (and to get some advice), but Ash had a bad feeling about the whole situation. Something felt off. That was when he decided to return.

Ash finally walked outside of the airport, taking almost no time at all in locating Alex. Alex noticed him and waved.

“Boss! Long time no see!”

Ash waved off the name. “You’re the boss these days, not me. It’s been a long time.”

Alex looked around for a moment. “Eiji didn’t come, I’m guessing?”

“Of course not. I would never bring him into all of this again,” Ash said, just a bit too harshly.

Alex nodded. “You’re right. I’m not sure why I asked.”

Ash’s face softened a bit. “No, sorry, you’re fine.”

The two walked away from the airport’s entrance and grabbed a cab.

“There’s been another update, Boss. Last night, we heard that Max Lobo’s family was the target of a ‘home invasion’.”

Ash’s eyes widened a bit. “Max? Really? Are they okay?”

Alex nodded. “Yeah, they’re fine. The guy who did it got away, but Jessica managed to shoot him in the arm, I think. Police aren’t really looking into it further, but… well, we had sorta had a bad feeling about it.”

Ash didn’t say much. The gears were turning in his head. It could definitely just be a coincidence, but with targeted attacks, it seemed like strange timing. Max isn’t a member of the gang, but he certainly isn’t without ties to it. If people who just had ties to the gang were being targeted, then….

Ash’s breath hitched.  _ Eiji is fine, right? _

“Boss? You okay?”

Ash blinked, looking back up at Alex. He released the breath he was holding.

“I think everything is fine. I just need to make a quick phone call.”

As Ash said this, the cab pulled over on the curb, arriving at their destination. Ash immediately got out of the car while Alex paid the fare. Ash pulled his phone out, dialing Eiji’s phone number. He knew it was late there, but he was counting on Eiji to answer anyway.

Instead of ringing, Ash was greeted by Eiji’s voicemail. He felt the color drain from his face. He dialed again, being sent to voicemail once again. It wasn’t like Eiji to turn his phone off or let it die.

Ash tried not to let panic ensue. There were plenty of reasons as to why Eiji didn’t have his phone on. Ash swiped through his contacts, landing on Ibe’s. He pressed the contact and held his phone up to his ear.

Within a few moments, a groggy voice was answering the phone.

“Ash? It’s a little late for a chat…”

Ash rolled his eyes. “Ibe, I’m not calling to chat. I’m in New York.”

“New York? I heard you and Ei-chan were just visiting Izumo two days ago.”

Ash felt a pang in his chest. He hesitated. “Something came up.”

Now Ibe hesitated. His voice was much more alert and serious. “Is Eiji with you?”

“No. That’s why I’m calling. I just need to make sure he’s okay. He isn’t answering my calls.”

Ash heard a sigh on the other line. “I’ll check on him. It’ll take some time to get to your apartment though.”

“Thanks, Ibe. Call me when you know.”

Ash hung up, not waiting for a response. Alex walked over.

“All good?”

Ash nodded. “Let’s go.”

The two wandered through the maze of grungy alleyways, finally managing to reach the hideout. It wasn’t the same one as last time, for obvious reasons. It was standard enough and didn’t draw much attention to itself. This hideout was new to Ash, and he would have to make an effort to learn its layout quickly. 

Once through the door, Alex stopped and reached into a pocket, pulling out a revolver. It looked a lot like Ash’s old gun, he noted. Alex offered the gun to Ash, holding it out to him. 

Ash stared at the gun for a moment before he finally grabbed it. As much as he hated admitting it, he felt safer with this tucked into his waistband. It was familiar—the comforting weight, the cool feeling of the metal, everything. He understood guns and it showed. He would certainly feel more at ease with one hidden away in the apartment somewhere.

The pair walked in further through a hallway, lined by old wooden doors leading to other rooms. Ash realized that the hideout was bigger than he initially thought. Alex opened a door at the end of the hallway, revealing a small common area of sorts. There wasn’t much to the room; old beige walls, a small, unused kitchen tucked away in a corner, a small fireplace that Ash figured hadn’t been used in 30 years, and a few lamps emitting a soft orange light interspersed throughout the room. Lots of familiar faces were sitting on old, worn couches that surrounded a wooden coffee table. Two in particular lit up at the sight of the young blond standing in the doorway.

“Boss!”

Ash looked up to see Bones and Kong approaching quickly. He offered a smile at their enthusiasm to see him.

“It’s been so long! How is Eiji?” Bones asked.

Kong nodded, then said, “Yeah, how is the little guy? It was weird getting used to you both being gone.” 

Ash smiled. “Eiji is doing good. I know he would’ve wanted to be here, but…” Ash trailed off. He didn’t really know what to add to that statement.

Alex cleared his throat, nonverbally signaling for Kong and Bones to stop asking. The two exchanged knowing glances, backing off a bit. Ash was glad to see Alex had done a good job as establishing himself as a leader.

Alex started leading the discussion, explaining to Ash the measures they began to take as they realized that they were being targeted for affiliation to the gang. Members were always to stay in groups, always to let Alex know where they were going, things of that nature. Ash approved so far, knowing he would’ve acted similarly.

“Onto the matter of Max Lobo,” Alex said, continuing on. “If Max’s family was targeted because of affiliation to us, that helps us in establishing motive. If that’s the case, it’s less about the gang and more likely about…” he trailed off, glancing at Ash.

“It would be more likely about me.” Ash finished. “I’ve already considered that. To be honest, it feels more likely.”

Alex nodded. “It’s safer to operate under that assumption. We probably need to contact everyone affiliated with you.”

Ash swallowed hard, his mind going back to Eiji briefly. Eiji was the elephant in the room. Everyone wanted to ask, but no one dared.

“I asked someone to check on Eiji,” Ash finally said, bluntly. “All that’s left are people here in New York. Have you been in contact with Sing and Cain?”

Alex nodded. “They’re aware of the situation.”

“Good.” Ash caught himself about to add an order for everyone but bit his tongue. He wasn’t here to step back into his role, despite everyone still calling him  _ boss _ . He knew that was most likely just a force of habit. Still, he tried to keep himself physically removed, in a sense. He didn’t step too much further into the room, trying to hug the doorframe a bit.

Alex spoke up again. “I want you all to spread out and try and gather whatever information you can. Be careful, and make sure you stay with at least one or two others.”

All of the members in the room responded with a chorus of, “Yes boss!” as they got up and walked out of the hideout, many offering excited glances Ash’s way.

***

Eiji woke up to his room filled with golden light. Without moving, he glanced towards the window, seeing a brilliant sunset outside. Normally, he would’ve dragged Ash outside to look at it (and let him take pictures of the two of them), but he couldn’t convince himself to go outside and look. He just rolled over, reaching for his phone.

Still no messages or calls from Ash. He sighed, looking at the crack in his phone screen. He shouldn’t have thrown his phone earlier. Sulking was so unlike him.

He sat up, swinging his legs over the bed. He looked at the time, realizing Ash must be pretty close to New York by now.

This whole situation reminded Eiji so much of how he felt when he was trapped in the apartment in New York. Ash told him he couldn’t leave, so he didn’t. He just stayed and waited for Ash to come back, doing chores to pass the time. There was an unbalanced power dynamic back then; that said, Eiji didn’t resent it, but he acknowledged it. It wasn’t like it lasted into their current relationship. Everything Ash did back then was to protect him.

He couldn’t shake the feeling of dread that was knotted in his stomach. Ash was in a better place these days, but would he ever give up like he did back then? The thought of Ash never coming back scared Eiji more than anything.

The thought of Ash never coming back scared him much more than anyone could in New York. It scared him much more than the consequences of breaking his promise to Ash to not follow him.

Eiji pulled out of his phone, looking online for plane tickets. The next flight to New York left from Tokyo in just a little while. There was a connecting flight from a nearby airport. Eiji glanced at the time, trying to see if he could make it. If he left in half an hour, he could catch the first flight.

_ Am I really doing this? _

Eiji shook his head, finding resolve. He had to. He remembered the regret he felt when he didn’t do something rash. He knew Ash would be furious, and that he would be doing more harm than good, but….

He wasn’t sure he trusted Ash to come back alive.

Eiji sprung up from the bed, shoving clothes and toiletries into a small suitcase. Within twenty minutes, he was out of the house, catching a cab to the airport.

Before he knew it, he was on a plane from Shimane prefecture to Tokyo, beginning his sixteen-hour journey to the US.

What Eiji didn’t know is that he missed a phone call from Ash just after his flight had taken off in Tokyo, or that Ibe was on his way to their apartment.

***

“What do you mean he’s not there?”

“I mean he isn’t answering the door, and the lights are off.”

Ash had held off on panicking before, but now there was no point.

“There’s a chance he’s just sleeping, Ash. It’s a bit late here.”

Ash shook his head. “No. Eiji isn’t a deep enough sleeper that he wouldn’t hear your knocking. He isn’t there.”

Ibe paused. “Well, what does that mean? Do you want to fill me in on what’s going on?”

Ash was beginning to fear the worst. If they were correct in their assumptions that all of Ash’s friends were being targeted, Eiji would be damn near the top of the list of targets. He rubbed his temples.

“We don’t know for sure yet. There have been targeted attacks. We’re figuring out if I’m the common denominator or the gang.” Ash was distracted, not putting much effort into his explanations. His mind was elsewhere. What should he do? Should he go back to Japan to try and find Eiji? Try and call him again?

“Ibe, I think there’s a spare key hidden outside under a pot of flowers,” Ash said, trying to remember where Eiji had always hidden it. Ash was definitely not a fan of the idea, but Eiji insisted (“I can’t pick a lock like you, and if I get locked out I won’t be able to get in-“).

He heard some rustling and movement on the line, then Ibe made a noise. “Found it. I’ll go check for him.”

Ash heard the door open, but other than that it was silent. He guessed that was a good thing in the sense that things looked normal.

After a few moments, Ibe spoke up again. “He’s not here.”

“How’s the state of the place? Does it look okay?”

“Yeah, there doesn’t seem to be any signs of a struggle if that’s what you’re implying.”

That was a good sign. It gave Ash a bit of hope. “Thanks, Ibe.”

He felt his phone vibrate against his cheek, and he pulled it away from his face, hopeful it was Eiji trying to call in. Ash couldn’t help but feel disappointed seeing it was Max.

He put the phone back to his ear. “I gotta go. Call me if you find him.”

“Ash, wait-“

_ Click. _

“Hello?”

“Well if it isn’t Ash Lynx himself. I appreciated all of the phone calls and pictures this past year from you and Eiji, felt like I was really right there with ya,” Max said, sarcasm lacing his voice.

Ash rolled his eyes. “Can it, old man.”

He heard Max chuckle. “Well, I guess you’re back for the time being.”

Ash sighed. “Guess so. Wanna tell me about last night?”

“Well, yeah, that’s why I was calling. It definitely wasn’t a normal home invasion.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, for starters, typical home invaders don’t storm in wearing a bulletproof vest with assault weapons.”

Ash paused. “No, I guess they don’t.”

“Jessica took Michael and hid him in the house while I tried to face him. I managed to kick the gun out of his hand, but he had a knife on him that I didn’t see. He really had me backed into a corner, but Jessica came out of nowhere with the shotgun and took matters into her own hands,” Max said, laughing. “He got away, though. After talking to Alex for a bit, it seems more likely they came after us because we know you.”

Ash sighed. “It’s looking that way.”

There were a few long moments of silence on the line before Max spoke again.

“So what does that mean for Eiji?”   
Ash was starting to get sick of people asking him about Eiji. He felt so helpless, and he needed time to think about where to start looking for him. It was taking everything in him not to hop on a plane to Tokyo and tear the country apart to find him.

But for now, he bit his tongue. “I don’t know. I left him in Japan, thinking it was safer, but that was before the situation became the way it is. I can’t get ahold of him and he’s left the apartment.”

“I’m sure he’s just out,” Max said. “He hated being cooped up, right?”

Ash made a noise in agreement. “Yeah, and he’s pretty much always running around doing errands. But that doesn’t change the fact that it’s late there and he’s gone.”   
“Ash, don’t worry unless you have a concrete reason to. Give him a few hours to get back to you; if it’s so late, he could very well be asleep. He might’ve gone to his parents’ house.”

Ash closed his eyes. He would have to consider that after he and Max got off the phone.

“Anyway, I’m coming to help you. I should be there in a few days.” 

Ash furrowed his brow. “No offense,  _ Dad _ , but it doesn’t seem smart to leave Jessica and Michael alone now that we have the details we have. Besides, we’re pretty good here.”

Max scoffed. “Yeah, right. Jessica and Michael are safer in hiding than being with me. And don’t underestimate her, she’s a force all right.”

Ash made a face. “No shit.”

“Besides, my ability to gather information will come in handy. That’s a place you are lacking in right now.”

Well, he wasn’t  _ wrong _ . The guys were great, but discretely getting info wasn’t their strong suit. Maybe it wouldn’t be a bad idea to have Max.

“Fine. But don’t come crying to me when you get caught in the crossfire,” Ash said, smirking.

“You’re talking to a guy that was in the army. I’ll be just fine without your help,” Max retorted. “Anyway, be careful. I’ll let you know when I’m coming.”   
_ Click. _

***

Ash ultimately decided to take Max’s advice with regards to Eiji. He tried to call Eiji later that night, knowing it would be a more reasonable time in Japan, but it still went straight to voicemail. Ibe hadn’t called Ash with any updates either. Ash decided it was appropriate to begin to worry. It was very unlike Eiji to take this long to return a call, even if they had left things in a weird place before Ash left.

Ash had gotten settled in one of the couple bedrooms in the hideout. It was pretty small and mirrored the look of the rest of the building: nondescript and old. Each room he was in had a distinct must lingering in the air. 

The hours ticked on. Ash was getting antsy, and was  _ much _ more serious in contemplating going back to Japan, already searching for tickets on his phone. While scrolling, he got a notification across the top screen of his phone.

[UNKNOWN]

Ash narrowed his eyes, sitting up from the bed he had been laying on. He opened the text message, noticing there was an image attached.

Ash felt his blood run cold as he tapped on the image. At first, he couldn’t really tell who was in the picture, but the realization filled him with an indescribable feeling of dread. It was a blurry picture of Eiji walking through JFK, on his phone.

Ash could feel his heart pounding in his head. He frantically searched the picture for details of time and location, trying to figure out where he needed to go.

He would worry about that as he went. He leapt off the bed, rushing to the door, as he got a phone call from Eiji.

“Eiji??”

“Hey… Sorry I missed your calls, Ash. Some stuff came-”

“Eiji, get out of there right now!” Ash yelled into his phone.

“What…? How do you know where I am?” A bit of nervousness was laced into his questions.

_ Dammit! There’s no time! _

Ash was sprinting out of the hideout, weaving through the rooms. He didn’t bother to answer anyone’s questions as he ran past them, needing to get out. 

“Where are you at this very moment?”

Eiji hesitated. “I’m outside of the airport. But you seem to know that somehow.”

“Get into a crowd! Don’t go off by yourself!”

“Ash, you’re freaking me out. What is going on?”

Before Ash could explain, he heard Eiji gasp, then silence as the call ended.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! I'm sorry the timeline is such a mess lol. Time zones and flight lengths were really hurting my brain, so if you notice inaccuracies regarding time zones, pls look the other way haha. I'm looking forward to getting into the next chapter and plan to update it within the next few days :)  
> Also huge thank you to novabird for being my beta reader!!


	3. Chapter 3

Eiji felt a cool, metal barrel resting on his mid-back, as well as the hot breath on his neck of another person dangerously close behind him. He hadn’t moved an inch after being forced to hang up the phone. He felt his heart rate starting to increase, but took a deep breath and dared to turn his head just enough to look at whoever was holding him hostage right now.

Eiji didn’t think he recognized him; not that he necessarily expected to, anyway. He was really tall -- maybe even taller than Ash. He was wearing black clothing and had a face mask on to obscure part of his face. All Eiji could see were his dark eyes and dark hair.

“If you make one move, you’re dead, Japanese brat,” he muttered quietly, his voice so deep Eiji felt like his voice could send tremors through the ground. “Listen carefully to what I say. You are going to walk over into that black sedan, and step into the car. Once in the car, you are going to hand me your phone, as well as any other communication devices on you.”

Eiji nodded, trying to not let his body shake. He kept a defiant expression on his face, needing to appear unintimidated. He didn’t want to get in the car… Ash’s words rang in his ears, telling him getting into a car can be a death sentence for someone like Eiji that has no means of defense. Even so, it wasn’t like he had a choice.

Feeling the barrel push harder into his mid back, Eiji found his feet (and more urgency) and began walking to the car. _I’ll just have to figure something out._ He had no idea the situation in New York was this bad. But how could he have? Ash left with barely any explanation.

He walked to the curb, opening the door and sliding across the seats into the far-right backseat, awkwardly dragging his small suitcase with him. The man followed him, slamming the door behind them. There was another person in the driver’s seat, who gave them a quick glance in the rearview mirror before accelerating into the traffic. The person in the front seat also had his face concealed with a medical mask.

“Phone, now,” the man demanded, still pointing his gun at Eiji. Eiji gulped, hesitantly handing his phone over to the man. “Do you have anything else on you?”

Eiji shook his head, telling the truth. “This is all I have. I was in a rush.”

He narrowed his eyes. “I don’t believe you. I’ll have to check myself.” Eiji couldn’t read the man’s intent very well, but there was some kind of malice in his eyes.

Eiji’s breath hitched in his throat as the man leaned closer. He instinctively edged away, feeling himself back into the car door.

The man in the front seat made a noise of disapproval. He didn’t say anything, but Eiji saw him glare through the rearview mirror at the man beside Eiji. 

The man beside hesitantly Eiji backed off, raising his hands in mock defeat. Eiji released the breath he was holding but didn’t dare to move back to his original seat. He kept his body pressed against the door, as far away as he could get from this man.

“Don’t worry, I’m not gonna _hurt_ him. I need to search him. The boss’d have our heads if we hurt him too early,” he said, holding the gaze of the man sitting in the front seat. There was a certain emotion lingering in his eyes at the mention of their boss. Eiji couldn’t quite put his finger on it. Respect, maybe? 

The man in the front hesitantly nodded, switching his attention back to the road. 

“All right brat, get over here. I’m searching you,” he said, grabbing Eiji by the forearm and yanking him forcefully close. Eiji scowled at the man as he began to search his pockets and pat him down. After he felt confident Eiji didn’t have anything on his person, he grabbed his suitcase and rifled through it for a moment, finding nothing but clothes and toiletries.

“Guess you were telling the truth,” he said, throwing Eiji’s things onto the floor.

“Yeah, I was,” Eiji said, holding his stare.

He broke his stare-off with Eiji as Eiji’s phone began to vibrate in his hand. He looked at the caller I.D., roaring with laughter.

“Looks like the lynx is gettin’ worried ‘bout you. _Good_.”

Eiji glared at his captor, feeling uncharacteristically brave these past few minutes.

“You can kill the tough act now. By the time this is all over, you won’t have the strength to make those faces again. Who knows if you’ll live that long.”

Eiji felt his calm facade beginning to crack in that moment. _This is really happening._

His eyes darted around the car, looking for something, _anything,_ that could help him. It was dark outside, and he didn’t know New York very well -- not this part anyway.

Eiji’s phone started buzzing again. The man looked at Eiji, rolling down the window. “I think it’s about time we got rid of this, don’t ya think?”

Eiji watched, helplessly, as his phone was tossed out of the window. He couldn’t help but think of how his situation mirrored his first day in New York City the first time he came here. He felt a pang in his heart, remembering Skip.

Except this time no one was following the car he was trapped in. No one knew where he was.

Eiji was jerked from his thoughts as the man grabbed his wrists forcefully. He pulled out a zip tie, securing it painfully around Eiji’s wrists. He winced as the man tightened it. The zip tie created a deep indentation, his skin swelling around it.

“Not that I think you’ll be able to put up much of a fight, but the boss’d have my head if we fucked this up.”

Eiji saw that emotion flash through this man’s eyes yet again at the mention of his boss. It’s not respect; it’s definitely fear.

“Where are you taking me?” Eiji finally asked, trying and failing to keep the nervousness out of his voice.

The man looked over at Eiji, ignoring his question. “If you speak out of line again, you’re losing a finger.”

Eiji didn’t say another word.

***

Ash cursed as his calls to Eiji’s phone went to voicemail. He pulled up Eiji’s location on his phone, desperately taking in details of his whereabouts. It was clear he was in a car, as his location updated every few seconds. Ash stopped running, catching his breath while looking at his phone screen. He didn’t have time to panic.

Much to Ash’s surprise, Eiji was a ten-minute car ride from his location, including traffic. 

_I’ll get there faster running._

Ash didn’t have many thoughts in his mind beyond reaching Eiji. He didn’t allow himself to be overcome with panic or rage -- not yet, at least. As soon as he reached Eiji, though, someone would be taking their final breaths. He was positive of that.

Ash started running in the direction of Eiji’s location. After running for a few moments, the location stopped refreshing.

_Dammit! They’ve gotten rid of his fucking phone._

Even with his location not refreshing anymore, Ash continued running at his inhuman pace. Blanca’s words during his training echoed through his mind.

_If you have to run somewhere far away, don’t overexert yourself, no matter what the situation is. You’ll tire out within minutes. Keep a steady pace._

“Fuck that,” Ash muttered, not slowing down or wavering.

Within five or six minutes, Ash was at Eiji’s last known location, his breathing labored and ragged, his breath coming out in visible clouds in front of him. He was burning up, despite his skin feeling frozen from the chilly October air. 

Still struggling to breathe, he looked at the road. The map indicated he was heading south, so Ash started running in that direction. He hoped he could make it to Eiji in time. He hoped he could find him.

If he didn’t, he didn’t know what he’d do.

***

Eiji was ushered out of the car. They had pulled into a quiet section of the city -- much to Eiji’s dismay, there was no one around. Eiji could hear sirens in the distance, as well as the bustle of the city. It seems that they weren’t far off the beaten path. He looked around, observing his surroundings closely for the first time. It took a moment for his eyes to adjust to the darkness, as there were no streetlamps, but they were surrounded by tall buildings. They looked to be apartment buildings of some kind. Looking ahead, Eiji saw an alleyway directly in front of him. Somehow, the alleyway was even darker than his current surroundings. 

Eiji was abruptly pushed into the alleyway’s abyss, his captor shoving the cold metal of the gun’s barrel into Eiji’s back once more. He was tense, trying to figure something out. He was running out of time if they’ve already gotten out of the car. Eiji knew better than to try and take the gun away from his captor. That was just asking to be killed.

Eiji glanced back at the car, getting his first good look at his second captor. He was much shorter than his partner (but to be honest, most would be shorter). He was wearing a black jacket, which looked as if it fit a bit too loosely. Noticing Eiji’s gaze, he adjusted his face mask to fit his face a bit better.

Eiji suddenly felt a sharp pain in his back, slamming him into the ground. He landed face first, being unable to brace himself efficiently with his hands confined. He landed directly on his left wrist, feeling a stabbing pain shoot up his arm. He gasped in pain, hoping his wrist didn’t break. Trying to ignore the throbbing that began to emanate up his arm, he looked up at his captor. He was standing over him, his foot still slightly raised from kicking him.

“Do you _really_ think you have time to be admiring the scenery right now? I think you should focus your attention on _me._ ” He pointed his gun directly between Eiji’s eyes, and Eiji heard the unmistakable _click_ of the trigger being pulled slowly.

“Next time, I’ll-” 

Suddenly, the captor stopped speaking.

Eiji blinked, trying to see why he stopped. Eiji couldn’t see much at first, but then saw that his eyes were scrunched shut in pain. The man started grasping at his neck, scratching desperately. The dark-haired Japanese boy blinked, trying desperately to see what had caused his captor’s bizarre behavior. It almost looked as if he was trying to grab an invisible noose around his neck.

Deciding that this would be a rare opportunity to put some distance between him and his captor, Eiji slid away from him, not caring that glass shards on the ground were tearing into his arms and back. He didn’t understand what was happening, but Eiji was scared.

“I’ve had enough of your talking,” Eiji heard a voice mutter from behind the captor.

The man tried to turn around, confusion and fear in his eyes. Eiji looked just in time to see the other captor remove his light blue face mask. It was so dark that Eiji couldn’t see his face, though. He had his hand outstretched, holding onto something.

Eiji looked closely, finally noticing a wire connecting the two men. The wire released from his throat, and he collapsed to the ground, coughing and weak. The wire retracted into the device being held by the other man. The other man looked at Eiji, and Eiji finally realized who he was.

“Eiji! Are you okay?”

Sing rushed over to Eiji, kneeling beside him, worry plastered on his face.

Eiji stared at him, stunned. “Sing?? What are you- how did you-”

“I was tailing this guy and his partner for the past day. Alex called me, letting me know we needed to keep an eye out. These guys had been lingering in Chinatown near our hideout, so I decided to follow them. Good thing I did -- I had no idea you were coming.”

Eiji sighed, thanking the gods silently. All of the gods may be in Izumo, enjoying the beach, but there was at least one looking out for him. “But when did you disguise yourself as his partner?”  
“At the airport. I overheard them talking, and when your name came up, I knew I needed to do something. When that guy walked inside, I took his partner out and-” Sing shook his head. “It doesn’t matter. We gotta get you out of here. Are you hurt?”

Eiji remembered the throbbing in his wrist upon being asked. “Nothing too bad, don’t worry.”

As Sing tried helping Eiji off the ground, they heard a _click_ of a gun. They quickly turned around to see the other captor barely standing, using the side of the alleyway for support. He pointed his gun at them.

“Sing Soo-Ling, huh? You made a fatal mistake by not killing me,” he rasped, shakily holding his gun.

Eiji heard Sing curse under his breath. 

“Eiji, when I give the word, you make a run for it,” Sing whispered. It was the quietest Eiji had ever heard him speak.

Eiji stared incredulously, then whispered back, “No! I can’t leave you! I refuse to do that!”

“Don’t argue with me right now! It’s our only option, I screwed up,” Sing whispered back, his voice filled with urgency.

Eiji was about to fire a comeback when he heard a loud, resounding _bang_. He flinched at the noise, closing his eyes. When he opened his eyes, he saw the captor sliding down the wall, eventually slamming into the ground, hit gun clattering out of his hand. Eiji looked at Sing, who was staring at the entrance to the alleyway.

Ash was standing at the entrance, his breaths ragged and uneven. He looked at the man lying on the ground, then around the alleyway. Eiji couldn’t tell what was on Ash’s mind during that moment, but his gaze lingered just a moment too long on the lifeless body. When his eyes landed on Sing and Eiji, he ran over to them, his expression intense. He kneeled beside Eiji, his eyes searching frantically for wounds or signs of distress. His brow was knit with concern.

“Eiji, are you okay? What did he do to you?” Ash’s breathing had not evened out at all.

Eiji shook his head. “Ash, I’m okay. It’s okay.”

He stared just a moment longer, almost not believing him, then pulled Eiji into a tight embrace -- so tight, Eiji didn’t know if he’d let go. Unable to hug him back, Eiji rested his head onto Ash’s shoulder. During their hug, Sing awkwardly scooted away from them, his gaze averted.

When they finally parted, Ash finally looked at Sing. 

“How did you get here?”

Sing shook his head. “Right place at the right time.”

Ash stared at him for a moment, then nodded. “Thank you. It’s good to see you.”

Sing smiled sheepishly, scratching the back of his head. 

Ash’s attention fell back to Eiji when he heard a groan come from the dark-haired boy. He was trying to prop himself up.

“Eiji, what’s wrong?”

“It’s nothing. Just landed on my arm weird. Can you get this off?” Eiji asked, holding his wrists up.  
Ash pulled out a pocket knife, slicing the zip tie. Eiji winced as it broke, his skin feeling more sensitive than normal from the lack of proper circulation.

Ash’s eyes lingered on the red indentations on Eiji’s wrist for a moment, then he looked away.

“Let’s get out of here,” Ash said quietly.

The trio had gotten themselves off the ground, and Ash walked over to the lifeless body on the ground.

He removed his cloth face mask, revealing the rest of his face. He had a defined jawline and dark stubble to match his hair.

Ash studied his face for a moment, then asked, “Sing, you recognize him?”

Sing shook his head. “No, you?”

Ash responded with a shake of his head. He searched the nameless person for a moment, trying to find any form of identification.

Sing spoke up while Ash searched. “I’ve been tailing this guy and his partner for a day now. They were so guarded -- even when alone, they never said each other’s names. I wasn’t able to get any meaningful information.”

As Ash expected after hearing what Sing said, he found no I.D.. Ash pulled his phone out, trying to register his fingerprints. After a rejection, he tried again. Ash frowned, confused and frustrated.

He reached for the man’s hands, flipping them upwards, looking at his fingerprints. He was shocked to see the lengths these people went.

His fingerprints had been chemically burned off -- Ash presumed via acid. He stared in disbelief, his fingertips tingling at the thought of the painful process.

“What’s wrong, Ash?” Eiji asked, studying Ash’s expression.

“His fingerprints were burned off at some point,” Ash said, lowering the man’s hands. 

Eiji frowned. “Burned off?”

Sing walked away from the two and towards the car. Once there, he popped the trunk, motioning for them to follow.

Ash stood up, walking over to the car, Eiji a footstep behind him.

When Ash and Eiji reached Sing, they saw the body of another man, presumably this man’s former partner, lying in the trunk.

Eiji stiffened at the fact that the whole time they were in the car, there was a dead body just tossed in the trunk.

Sing seemed to notice Eiji’s demeanor, as he said, “Sorry Eiji, there wasn’t much I could do. I just had to kinda… shove him back here.”

Eiji shook, waving his hands apologetically for being so obvious to read. “No, it’s okay, I understand.”

Ash searched this man too, finding no more luck than they had found with the first person. He had no I.D., no fingerprints, and he wasn’t someone either Ash or Sing knew. Ash sighed with exasperation, slamming the trunk.

***

The walk to the hideout could be described with a singular word: uncomfortable. No one spoke the whole way home, unable to gauge Ash’s mood. At first, Eiji didn’t think he was mad, but now that he confirmed Eiji’s safety, he looked to be in a foul mood.

Eventually, Sing broke the uncomfortable silence. “Okay. Well, I’m gonna go.” Ash nodded at him, his expression softening with gratitude towards the young leader. Sing hesitated, then added, “I’m glad you’re here, Ash. I know you probably don’t want to be here, but everyone feels much more at ease with you around.”

Ash looked at the ground for a moment, then back at Sing. “I don’t get why. It’s looking more and more like this is my fault anyway. But thanks.”

Sing nodded, then looked at Eiji. “And you need to be more careful! I won’t always be there to save your ass,” he said, offering a smile.

Eiji smiled. “Yeah, sorry about that. I’m really lucky you happened to be around.”

Sing turned to leave them on that note, walking in the opposite direction.

The uncomfortable silence resumed as Ash and Eiji continued walking. Eiji was just a few paces behind Ash, watching his back. He was nervous, but knew they needed to talk.

“Ash-”

“No, I still need a minute,” Ash said, cutting him off. He didn’t turn around to look at him.

Eiji frowned at being interrupted, but didn’t say anything, continuing to follow him.

After walking for a few more moments, Ash finally spoke.

“Eiji, I don’t know how to feel. I asked you to stay in Japan. As the situation started to change here, I realized that leaving you behind was the wrong choice. But when I try to get ahold of you, it’s complete radio silence. No one knew where you had gone. Do you know how badly you terrified me?”

Ash’s tone wasn’t harsh. It wasn’t angry, it wasn’t cold. It was confused, and maybe a bit hurt. Eiji’s heart ached as he heard him continue.

“And then I finally hear from you, but only after I got a blurry image of you walking through JFK from an unknown number. I had never been more terrified in my life than the moment you hung up the phone.”

Silence followed his statements, filling the ever-growing space between them. Eiji took this as his turn to speak.

“I’m so sorry. I’m sorry for scaring you and causing you trouble-”

“Eiji, that’s not-”  
“No, let me finish. I’m sorry for causing you pain, but I’m not sorry for coming. I’m not sorry for getting on the plane and chasing you. You were going to leave in the middle of the night, never saying a word to me. I… seeing you leave confirmed every nightmare I’ve had since you’ve come to Japan.”  
Ash turned to look at him for the first time. Eiji kept his eyes trained on the sidewalk, not able to meet his gaze.

Eiji felt anger swelling in his chest. “How could you do that to me?”

“I didn’t have a choice.”

Eiji laughed incredulously. “You didn’t have a choice? Are you serious? I didn’t realize someone had put a gun to your head and forced you to leave in the dead of night.”

“Eiji! If I had told you, you would have followed me or tried to stop me!”

“Well, I’m _sorry_ that you didn’t want me here. I know that I’m a burden here, but I had thought we were at least past you leaving me behind.”

Their voices were beginning to raise. Ash whipped around, walking into an alleyway. Eiji followed, keeping a distance.

“You know damn well that isn’t why I didn’t want you here. Eiji, they know you are my weakest point. They would be relentless in trying to hurt you or worse! Tonight confirmed that.”

“I don’t care! I don’t care at all!”

“And that’s the problem! I can’t trust you here because I’m afraid you’ll do something reckless!” Ash said, continuing to weave through alleyways. Eventually, they reached the hideout.

“ _You_ can’t trust _me_?” Eiji yelled, almost laughing in disbelief.

Ash opened the door, hearing distant voices chattering somewhere in the hideout. He didn’t really care in that moment that they would have an audience to their argument, though.

“No, Eiji, I can’t trust you. I mean, you came here behind my back! Your safety is never a priority to you, and I can’t have that here!”  
Eiji stared, hoping he wouldn’t regret his next few sentences. “Really? If I don’t care about my own safety, then you are a million times worse.”  
“That’s not the same and you know it. This is the world that I was trained to be in. When I go headfirst into a fight, I know I’ll be okay. But when you do something reckless, I have no guarantee that you’ll be okay. That terrifies me, Eiji,” Ash said, shutting the door behind them, his eyes sharp as he stared at Eiji.

It didn’t look like Eiji was going to back down, though. “Don’t give me that, Ash! I know-” he paused, taking a deep breath. “I know we are different. I know that I’m a burden here. I can’t fight, I don’t know how to shoot a gun, and I would be lost in the maze of New York City in an instant. But I wouldn’t give up and let myself die.” His voice was strong and loud. He stared at Ash, his dark brown eyes finding resolve as he spoke.

Ash furrowed his brow. The chattering from down the hall had stopped long ago. “I wouldn’t do that either!”

Eiji held his gaze. “You wouldn’t, Aslan? You wouldn’t give up?” His voice was quiet now.

Ash, confused, stared at Eiji, about to make some retort, but fell silent. His mouth was slightly opened, but no words came out. He understood in that moment where this was coming from.

“Eiji, I-”

Ash noticed Eiji’s dark eyes were glassy as he spoke. “No. I know I broke your trust by coming here, and I’m sorry. But you broke mine by lying in that library, just- just _bleeding_ out-” Eiji cut himself off, his voice losing its stability as he started picturing Ash. He turned away, not able to meet Ash’s gaze.

Ash didn’t know what to do. He considered for a moment trying to comfort Eiji, wishing he could say that it was just a misunderstanding. He knew it wasn’t, though. They both knew that.

Eiji broke Ash’s train of thought with a quiet voice.

“Where is somewhere I can be alone?”

Ash hesitated, staring at Eiji. His chest was tight as he silently led Eiji into one of the rooms lining the walls of the main entrance. He opened the door, letting Eiji go by himself in the room Ash had been staying in. He couldn’t bring himself to say a word as Eiji quietly closed the door.

***

Eiji sat on the bed that was in the middle of the room. It had been at least thirty minutes since he and Ash had parted, but it felt like an eternity. He had planned to try and remove the glass that had been lodged in his arms and back from earlier, but he couldn’t find any motivation. He was completely lost in his own swirling thoughts, and he was unable to bring himself out of them. All he could think of was the words that had been exchanged earlier. Eiji thought he would feel better after allowing himself to finally tell Ash his feelings. But he felt so much worse.

The dull throbbing of his wrist was what ultimately brought him out of his thoughts. He looked down at his left forearm, examining the damage with the better lighting that this room provided. He had been so swept up in talking to Ash (and then stewing over it) that he had forgotten the dull pain.

His wrist was swollen and purple in some places. But he could move his fingers -- painfully, yes -- but he could move them. He sighed with relief that his wrist hadn’t been broken. He would have felt even more pathetic if that had happened.

He heard a gentle knock on the door.  
“Eiji? Can I come in?” Ash’s voice was so soft.

Eiji stiffened at hearing his voice, not wanting to confront the mess he had left in the hallway. Hesitantly, he responded, “Yes, you can come in.”

The door quietly opened as Ash stepped into the room. He turned his back to Eiji, closing the door. He looked over his shoulder, giving Eiji concerned eyes.

“Is it okay if I sit with you?” Ash asked.

Eiji wordlessly nodded, and Ash walked over and sat beside him on the bed. The two sat in a bearable silence for a few moments, then Ash started speaking.

“I’m sorry.”

“For what?” Eiji asked in a small voice.

“Everything. Tonight, and back then.”

Eiji pulled his feet onto the bed, folding his knees and wrapping his arms around them. He rested his chin on his kneecaps. 

“Are you actually sorry?”

Ash glanced at him, then returned his gaze to the grimy-looking ceiling. “I am. I had to think about it too. I hadn’t given it a second thought after all this time. I didn’t want to apologize to you if I didn’t mean it,” Ash said, his voice quiet and thoughtful. “But I realized I am sorry. It was selfish of me. Do you know what happened that day, specifically?”

Eiji looked at him. “I know that you were stabbed by Lao, and that you went to the library,” Eiji’s voice trembled, but added, “and I know that you had my letter.”

“Yeah. I did. I read your letter and… I knew that Aslan Callenreese desperately wanted to catch that flight. So, I tried. But Lao got me soon after I got up. I don’t remember a lot after I shot him, but I remember knowing something as I stumbled past those big library doors.”

Eiji stared at him, silently urging him to continue.

“I knew that I had a decision to make. I could allow myself to meet a peaceful end or I could fight for my life. Ash Lynx and Aslan Callenreese wanted different things, so I met them somewhere in the middle. I chose to walk into the library and sit down in the seat you always sat in. It was a public place. If I was found and managed to survive, I would allow myself to see you again, and begin life again as Aslan.”

Eiji felt tears spill over his eyelashes, silently waiting for Ash to finish speaking.

“It was the most at peace I had ever felt. I held onto your letter as if it were a lifeline, knowing it might be the closest I could ever be to you again. So, I laid my head down, closed my eyes, and let myself drift away,” Ash said, a tinge of sadness lacing his voice. “The next thing I knew, I woke up to the sterile scent of a hospital. Fate decided I get to live. So, I upheld my promise to myself, and left for Japan the moment I was discharged. But… even though everything turned out okay, I’m still sorry. I didn’t think of the impact my decision would have on the person that meant the most to me.”

Eiji sniffled, allowing his tears to fall freely. Ash seemed to only just now notice Eiji crying, and he panicked. “I’m sorry, Eiji, I shouldn’t have told you all that!”

Eiji shook his head. “You are so dumb. How can a person like you be so smart, but so stupid?”

Ash blinked, confused. “What…?”

“Next time Ash Lynx starts to argue for you to die, maybe let Aslan Callenreese take over for a while, yeah?” Eiji laughed a bit, sniffling. “But I’m sorry. I can’t forgive you until you show me that you wouldn’t do it again. I’ll forgive you when you and I land in Japan and are back in our apartment. And you let us get a cat.”

Ash frowned, groaning. “Eiji, we are _not_ getting a cat.”

“Yes, we are!” Eiji said, rearing his arm back to playfully and lightly smack Ash’s arm. As he pulled his arm back, he winced as the long-forgotten glass shifted in his skin. He sucked in a sharp breath, catching Ash’s attention.

“What’s wrong? Are you hurt?”

Eiji smiled. “It’s nothing. I just need to go to the bathroom and fix it. Do you have any of those…” he frowned, trying to remember the English word for _tweezer_. “The thing that some use to pluck eyebrows.”

“Tweezers?” Ash asked skeptically.

Eiji’s eyes lit up. “Yeah! Those! I have some glass in my back-”

“You have glass in your back and we’ve just been _sitting_ here?” Ash asked incredulously. He made Eiji sit on the floor in front of him as he searched for some tweezers. By the time he found some, Eiji had removed his thin sweater and unbuttoned his loose, pink polo he had been wearing and shouldered it off, allowing his forearms to remain in the sleeves as his back to be exposed. There were indeed several large shards of glass wedged into his skin in various places. New and old blood combined, painting a picture on Eiji’s back that Ash _hated._ He sighed, exasperated, and sat behind Eiji.

“Eiji, this is what I mean. You got hurt and you haven’t done anything about it. You don’t have enough regard for your own safety, and it scares me,” Ash said, gently pulling out a piece of glass.

Eiji winced, feeling the glass pull free. “I’m sorry.”

“I won’t forgive you, either, until we’re back in Japan and you’ve proven to me that you have more regard for your own health,” Ash said, using Eiji’s words against him.

Eiji sighed. “Fine.”

“Fine!”

The two sat in silence as Ash removed all of the glass. He then cleaned the cuts, not wanting to think about how dirty the shards were. He bandaged the areas to the best of his ability, then sighed. “Where else?”

Eiji hesitated, shrugging his shirt back on. He didn’t bother with the buttons again. “I hurt my wrist, but it’s fine. It isn’t broken or anything.”

“Let me see.”

Eiji held his arm out, eliciting a huff from Ash.

“Eiji-”

“I know, I get it,” he said.

Ash gently reached out and held Eiji’s arm, looking closely. “It’s probably fractured. I’ll run out to the pharmacy tomorrow and get you a splint of some kind.”

Eiji shook his head. “That’s not necessary, I can just put it on ice.”

“Eiji,” Ash said, his tone warning.

Eiji looked resigned. “Fine. Worry wart.”

“Only with you,” Ash said, wrapping him into a gentle hug. He held him there for a moment. “I’m so glad you’re okay.”

Eiji buried his face into Ash’s shoulder. “I’m glad I’m with you again.”

The two stayed like that for several long moments, before Ash broke the hug. “Let’s get some sleep now. We could both use it.”  
Eiji nodded, almost feeling the urge to yawn at the mention of sleep. Ash got up first, extending his hands to Eiji to help him to his feet. It didn’t take long for them to get ready for bed, and within a few minutes, they had turned off the lights and were lying together.

Eiji was resting his head on Ash’s chest, listening to his heartbeat. Eiji found himself doing this most nights, hoping the rhythmic noise would stave off any bad dreams related to Ash in the library.

Ash played absentmindedly with Eiji’s hair, not saying anything. Things felt better between the two of them, but there was a tension in the air that was almost tangible. Eiji didn’t know if it was because of the argument or because of the fact that they were back in New York. Eiji pretended not to notice the gun that was under Ash’s pillow.

He felt his eyelids grow heavy, the result of a mixture of jetlag and Ash playing with his hair. Eiji allowed himself to drift off, silently praying for a night of dreamless sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> jskdfjsk not me absentmindedly writing this chapter, not realizing i had a 10 page word document.  
> i decided to wrap it up and post lol  
> sorry this took me a minute to finish though! midterms have been ~killing me~. this has not been beta-read, so i apologize for any mistakes that i didn't catch. i hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! these boys really gotta start taking care of themselves better


	4. Chapter 4

Eiji woke up to darkness. He blinked a few times, trying to get the burning sensation of exhaustion to leave his eyes. He glanced around the dark room, feeling his confusion mount with each passing moment. 

_ Our room has a window, where is the window? And what is this musty smell? _

“Ash-” Eiji started, glancing to his side. He stopped himself, realizing no one was with him. At that moment, the cloud of confusion enveloping his mind began to dissipate. 

“We aren’t in Japan. Of course.”

He pulled himself into an upright position, ignoring his body’s complaints of soreness. He reached for the lamp on his bedside table, twisting the knob. With the sound of a  _ click _ , the room illuminated with a soft, orange glow, and he winced at the sudden light.

After allowing his eyesight to adjust for a moment, he noticed a splint sitting on his bedside table along with a small, folded piece of paper.

He took the note first, unfolding it. Ash’s distinct scrawl was displayed.

_ I went out this morning and grabbed a splint for you. I figured you would be up by the time I got back, but I’m assuming you’re tired from traveling. I already told Kong and Bones to make sure you keep that splint on at all times, so don’t even try to get out of it. _

_ Max got in this morning to help out here, so me and Alex went out to start getting information with him. I’m not going to make you stay put, but take one of the boys with you if you need or want to go out. I’ll be back later today. _

_ -Ash _

Eiji sighed, folding the note back up and gently setting it back on the bed side table. He then reached for the small splint and set it in front of him on the bed. He examined his wrist before putting it on - it was definitely looking better already. It was much less swollen and was his normal skin tone. It was still fairly tender, but he put the splint on anyway to appease Ash.

After getting ready for the day, he walked out of the room, entering the main, long hallway. Eiji couldn’t help but notice that this hideout had such a strange layout; he didn’t think he had ever been in a building quite like it. He shut the door quietly, then walked towards the door at the end of the hallway. Although he hadn’t been here before, he could hear Bones and Kong bickering about something in this general direction. He smiled, realizing how long it had been since he had last seen them.

He opened the door, which revealed the two aforementioned men sitting on worn, leather couches in the center of a large room. Eiji noted that this room was fairly similar to the other room that he and Ash were in. He noticed a small kitchen attached in a corner of the room.

“Eiji!” Bones exclaimed upon the dark-haired boy’s entrance.

Kong stood up and jog-walked to the doorway, Bones a pace behind him. Eiji smiled at them.

“It’s been so long!” Eiji said, giving them both hugs.

“It has! We’re glad to see you,” Kong said.

The two were mentioning something about Ash as Eiji glanced at one of the windows in the room. It was fairly bright outside already.

“...but he’ll be back probably by tonight.”

“Wait, what time is it?” Eiji asked, after a moment of silence.

“Ummm…” Bones started, grabbing his phone. “12:36 p.m.”

“Are you serious? I slept so long!” Eiji said, rubbing his head.

“We know how much you don’t like sleeping in, but the boss said not to wake you,” Kong said, apologetically.

Eiji waved them off. “No worries, sometimes sleeping in is good. Are you two hungry, though? If we have something in the kitchen I could make lunch.”   
Their expressions brightened almost immediately. “I would never turn down your cooking, Eiji! We don’t have anything here right now, though… we don’t really have any chefs among us,” Kong said, sheepishly.

“No matter! Let’s go get some groceries then. You have a chef among you once again,” Eiji said, excited to start cooking again.

And on that note, the trio left the hideout to head to the nearest market.

***

Ash, Max, and Alex were lingering in the alleyway that Eiji had been taken to just the night prior. Now that it was much better lit, the alleyway seemed much more normal. It was like any other alley in the city.

What wasn’t normal, however, was the lack of a body and car. Ash was positive that this is where they had been the night before: he walked over to the spot where the unidentified man had perished, retracing his steps exactly. There was no blood, no body, no gun, and no car.

“Listen, Ash, I’m not trying to insinuate you got confused-” Max started.

“I didn’t,” Ash said, cutting him off abruptly.

“Okay, so then why is there not a single trace of what happened? There’s not even a drop of blood,” Max said, crossing his arms.

Ash narrowed his eyes. “They must’ve sent someone to cover their tracks, I don’t know.”

At this moment, Ash had an idea. He got up from his spot, going to where Eiji and Sing were on the ground. 

He scanned the ground of the alleyway, trying to find-

“Bingo. I’m not crazy,” Ash said, leaning over and picking something up. Between his thumb and index finger was a single shard of glass, stained with a bit of blood.

Max was unimpressed, and Alex just stared at Ash, remaining silent and not wanting to challenge him. 

Ash sighed at the lack of response. “Eiji cut his back on glass here last night. I bandaged him up myself.”

At Ash’s clarification, the two seemed to be much more interested.

“This tells us a lot about these people, then,” Max mumbled, deep in thought.

“They are careful enough to cover their tracks to this extent,” Alex added.

Ash nodded. “That fits what we know so far. The two guys from last night had their fingerprints burned off. These people are pretty hardcore.”

“Staying in the shadows seems important to them, which makes sense. If we can’t see them, they’ll always have the upperhand,” Max said as Ash threw the glass on the ground.

“But that shard of glass means that they make mistakes,” Alex said. “They missed that piece of information.”

Ash sat on that comment for a while. He was getting the idea at this point that the only chance they would have to try and learn more about these people was through some kind of trap or mistake. What he didn’t doubt, however, was that there was a good chance that they could be watched at any given moment.

***

Eiji waited outside of the grocery store as Bones and Kong were inside, putting the groceries into bags. He felt bad, but because of his wrist, they insisted that he didn’t help them carry anything. He was sitting on a bench, wondering what Ash was doing. He couldn’t help but worry about him. Ash would always insist that he didn’t need someone to worry over him, but Eiji knew that wasn’t true.

Eiji was suddenly drawn out of his thoughts by a small, distressed noise coming from a nearby alley. Curious, he tried to focus on not listening to the many surrounding sounds of city life. After a moment, he heard the noise again. It sounded like a hurt animal. He stood up from the bench, walking into the alley beside the store.

He cautiously entered the alley, hearing the noise get louder and more defined. Sure enough, right near the entrance was a small, calico cat with no collar. He knelt carefully, trying not to scare the animal away. He saw crimson stains on the cat’s paw, which was twisted a bit. The cat was breathing heavily, eyeing Eiji.

He inched just a bit closer, testing to see if the cat would try and dart. When it didn’t, he moved forward until he was sitting in front of it. 

“Poor thing. What happened to you?” he asked gently, examining its paw a little more closely.

“Ah, I think she may have gotten hit by something. I-I just found her here,” a voice said from behind Eiji.

He jumped, whipping around to find a young girl standing behind him, keeping a reasonable distance. She couldn’t have been older than 17. She had messy brown hair that framed her face and big blue eyes full of tears.

“I-I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you,” she said, clutching something in her hands. Eiji looked down, realizing she was holding a mini first aid kit.

“Ah, that’s okay. Did you find her first?” Eiji asked.

She nodded. “Yes. I was on a jog when I heard her. I ran into that store and bought a first aid kit to try and help.”

Eiji smiled. She seemed very sweet. “That’s very kind of you. She seems to allow people to be near, so maybe we can try and clean her wound up?”

She nodded, slowly approaching Eiji and kneeling beside him. She opened the newly purchased first aid kit, and began wiping gently at the cat’s paw.

The cat hissed in protest, causing both of them to jump backwards a bit.

“I think she may need to go to the animal hospital instead,” Eiji said, glancing at the frightened animal.

The girl nodded. “I know… But I don’t have enough money to take her to a vet... But I can’t just leave her here either.” The tears that had been held at bay behind her waterline began to start flowing. 

Eiji panicked when she began crying. “Please don’t cry! I will take her to a vet!”

Her eyes brightened hopefully. “Really?”

_ Yeah, really, Eiji? It’s not like you have a lot of money.  _

Eiji ignored his thoughts, offering a somewhat stiff smile. “Yes, really.”

She grinned, wiping her tears with the side of her hand. “Thank you!!”

As Eiji was about to reply, he heard the panicked voices of Bones and Kong, calling his name from the store entrance. 

“Ah, sorry! I’m here!” he called back, waiting for them as they came around the corner. 

They were visibly relieved at the sight of the Japanese boy. 

“Eiji, don’t do that! You scared us!” Kong said, frantically, as they approached. Neither seemed to notice or care about this newcomer with him.

Eiji smiled sheepishly. “I’m sorry. I heard this cat and I couldn’t  _ not  _ help it.”

Bones looked down at the cat at Eiji’s mentioning of it, his expression suddenly distraught over the sight of the injured creature. 

“We have to help her!” Bones said, looking at Kong.

Kong’s eyes softened at the cat. Eiji couldn’t help but find it slightly humorous that two gang members on the streets of New York City that had bore witness to countless atrocities could be so  _ soft.  _

“We were going to take her to the vet,” the girl said, awkwardly interjecting. Noticing everyone turning their attention towards her, her face heated up, realizing she had hopped into their conversation. “Sorry to interrupt.” 

Eiji waved her off. “No worries,” he paused, then added, “so… would it be okay to try and get her to a vet?” he asked, looking at the two men.

Eiji was amused to see that Bones took no time at all in being won over in the pursuit of healing this animal. Bones nodded eagerly at Eiji, then looked at his partner. Kong hesitantly nodded, having three different people pressuring him with their intense expressions. “Well… yeah, I mean I guess that would be okay.”

On that note of the small victory, the girl carefully scooped the cat up into her arms. Eiji was shocked that the creature was allowing herself to be handled, but he didn’t question their stroke of luck. The four left the alley as a unit, on a mission to take this random cat to a vet.

As they were walking, Eiji realized he didn’t know this girl’s name. 

“I’m sorry, how rude of me. I’m Eiji, what is your name?” he asked, offering the timid girl a glance. 

She smiled, not removing her eyes from the sidewalk. “My name is May.”

***

After a long day of discovering little to nothing, Ash, Max, and Alex walked into the hideout, a cloud of dejection engulfing them. 

Ash was frustrated. He knew it had only been a day, but usually his intellect was a great ally in solving puzzles and mysteries. He took great pride in his intelligence; he didn’t face many issues he couldn’t solve. 

Max seemed like he was about to offer some words of encouragement to the younger when the trio heard some slight commotion coming from the common area of the hideout.

Ash walked a bit faster, opening the door abruptly, Alex and Max just a pace or two behind him. He didn’t know what he expected to find, but he definitely wasn’t expecting to see Eiji, Kong, and Bones sitting on the ground with a small calico cat wearing a bright pink cast on its paw.

Eiji jumped at the sudden action, then got excited when he saw Ash.

“Ash!”

He hopped up from the ground, then paused when he noticed Ash’s confused expression.

“Okay, uh, Ash. Don’t be mad,” Eiji started, glancing at the cat. Kong and Bones were stiff, eyes glued to Ash.

Alex and Max had amused expressions on their faces, staring at the tiny cat playing with a ball that had a bell in it.

“Eiji,  _ sweetie _ , why is there a cat here?” Ash asked, his voice forced with fake kindness. Ash and Eiji never used pet names, which made Eiji nervous.

“Well. So. I found her in an alley, and Ash, she was  _ really  _ hurt, and how could I leave her? So, we took her to the vet-”   
“The vet? Are you serious?”

Max let out a roar of laughter from behind Ash. 

“C’mon, Ash, that’s a cute cat. Look at her, she’s already ripping up the couch,” Max said, pointing at the cat, which had, in fact, abandoned the ball for the couch.

Ash pinched the bridge of his nose, closing his eyes. He honestly wasn’t that mad. Eiji loves cats, and it wouldn’t be bad for him to have some kind of distraction at the hideout. Maybe having a cat would make him less inclined to leave.

When Ash opened his eyes, Eiji was staring at him, his brown eyes seeming just a bit bigger.

“Let’s keep her! It’s not like I can just take her back,” Eiji said.

Ash rolled his eyes. He could never say no to Eiji. “Fine. We can keep her if you promise to not do anything dangerous while we’re here.”

Eiji got up and gave him a hug. “Well, duh. I’m a very careful and safe person.”

Ash was about to retort with a sharp comment, but bit his tongue, just hugging Eiji back.

Max cleared his throat, causing the two to break from their hug. “Eiji, it’s been awhile! How have you been?”

***

Eiji made a huge dinner with all of the ingredients they purchased from the grocery store in honor of having a reunion with all of their friends. He even got the fire going in the old fire place, offsetting the chill from outside that seemed to permeate into the room from outside. Ash made sure to hold off on all of the serious talk until after Eiji had fallen asleep, not wanting to ruin his pleasant mood. Everyone had drank and eaten to their heart’s content, ending up on the couches in the center of the room. Eiji had fallen asleep curled up beside Ash on the couch, his head resting on one of Ash’s legs. Ash was leaning against the arm of the couch in an upright position, propping his head up with his hand, staring at the flickering flames in the fire place. Kong and Bones had left for the evening, heading to one of the other hideouts scattered throughout the city, just leaving Alex and Max. The room was dark, only illuminated by the orange, flickering glow of the fire.

Max smiled, looking at Ash and Eiji. Even though Ash had an air of concern about him throughout the day, he looked relaxed with Eiji.

“I think our best bet to lure these people out is setting some sort of trap,” Ash said, unaware of Max’s staring. He glanced at Alex, then added, “Everything is your call though. I’m only here because I feel responsible.”

Alex sighed, stretching. “To be honest, I think you should be calling the shots right now. It makes the most sense given the situation. Besides, you have years of experience that I don’t have with running this gang.”

Ash shook his head. “No. I’m here to assist and advise, like you said on the phone. I’m not looking to use this as some kind of segue into jumping back into my old life.”

“That’s not really what I mean,” Alex said, scratching the back of his head. “This is a unique situation. Because they are specifically interested in you, I think you should be making the calls. Nothing more. I’m not asking you to come back full swing.”

Ash hesitated. He didn’t want to do that. Not because of any reasons for himself: it was solely because of the dark-haired boy sleeping on his leg. Ash wasn’t going to pretend that what they went through one year ago hadn’t affected or changed Eiji. He knew it was a bit too late to spare Eiji any more pain related to this place, but he could try and minimize it.

“Ash, please.”

Max stared at Ash, studying his expressions. He almost seemed to be able to read the thoughts going through his mind.

“Eiji’s a lot tougher than you give him credit for, Ash,” Max said, sighing. “There’s minimal difference between calling the shots and being an advisor in how it will impact Eiji while you two are here. At the end of the day, you will be equally as involved.”

Ash shot Max a look. He didn’t like that Max had read him so easily in that moment. When had he started allowing people to read him like that?

“Fine,” Ash relented. He leaned back into the couch. “But I really do mean it. I’m leaving when everything is said and done… I owe it to him,” Ash said, running a hand through his blonde hair. After a moment, he then added, “Well, in that case, we should definitely go with a trap.”

“I agree. It’s not in our best interest to wait for them to make a move or screw something up,” Alex said.

“Right, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be surveilling the areas surrounding the hideouts,” Max said. “Ash, what did you have in mind for a trap?”

Ash shrugged. “Nothing too special, to be honest. Can’t go wrong with the basics. We know that these people are well-connected and secretive; that said, they will take an opportunity to go after one of us if that opportunity arises. They proved that by going after Eiji. I say we let them have an opportunity, then we try and corner them.”

Max and Alex stayed silent for a moment, allowing his words to settle in the quiet room. Finally, Max broke the silence.

“I guess that’s all we have, huh?”

Ash smirked. “Hey, it’s not that bad. It’s no genius plan, but why go all out when you don’t have to? I’ll start walking around the city and establishing a ‘routine’. Eventually, they’ll take the bait. I’ll have some of the guys on standby to back me up.”

Alex sighed. “It’ll have to do for now. How should we divide our forces?”

“Well, I want the majority of the guys to be on guard and watching for anyone they don’t know or don’t recognize. I’ll leave the specifics to you, though,” Ash said, prompting a nod from Alex. To be honest, Ash wasn’t sure how many of the people in the gang he still knew. It was definitely better to leave those things up to Alex.

“Well, we should all get some rest. We’re getting back to it first thing tomorrow,” Ash said.

The cat that Eiji, Kong, and Bones had found had, at some point, climbed into Max’s lap. Max was absentmindedly stroking her head. Ash couldn’t help but laugh at the fact that Eiji hadn’t even named this cat.

As if on cue, Eiji began to stir, being gently pulled from his sleep.

“ _ Well _ , look who finally woke up,” Ash said in a teasing voice.

Eiji drowsily sat up, rubbing his eyes. Ash knew he was still half-asleep when he began speaking in Japanese to everyone in the room. Ash was still learning the language so he couldn’t understand everything said, but he caught a few familiar words, like ‘ _ I’m sorry’ _ .

Ash laughed softly, then said in (bad) Japanese, “ _ Eigo de onegaishimasu _ .” (English, please.)

Max whistled. “Looks like you’ve gotten to work learning the language.”

Ash shot him a look. “Why are you so surprised? It’s almost as if I live there,  _ Dad _ .”   
Eiji finally seemed to wake up fully, as he started laughing a bit, a small blush of embarrassment coating his cheeks. “Sorry about that, I suppose I’m not quite awake yet. What time is it? I feel bad that I just fell asleep…”

Alex shook his head. “It’s almost midnight. It’s not a big deal, don’t worry about it. After all that food, I was about ready to tap out too.”

After the four conversed a while longer, everyone went separate ways to bed. In this particular hideout, it was just the four of them staying 24/7.

Eiji sat in his and Ash's room, holding the small cat in his arms before gently putting her on the end of the bed.

“Let’s name her Mochi,” Eiji said.

Ash was brushing his teeth in the small bathroom attached to the room. He spit out the toothpaste, then said, “Are you sure you don’t want to name her Mustard or something? I know how much you love it.”

Ash’s response prompted Eiji to throw the nearest pillow at him. “Fine! Mochi is fine!” He said, throwing his hands up in mock defeat.

Once both of them had finished their nightly routines, they turned off the lights and got into bed.

“How’s your wrist?” Ash asked.

“It’s doing fine. Can I take the splint off now? It’s very itchy.”

Ash rolled his eyes, laughing quietly. “Yeah, you can take it off at night. I didn’t expect you to be so whiny about it.”   
Eiji immediately undid the velcro straps on the splint, slinging it off to the side. “Whatever, you would complain if you had to wear one.”

They sat in a comfortable silence for a few moments before Eiji spoke up again. “Ash, I don’t think I ever told you about the girl I met today.”

“Oh?”   
“Yeah, her name is May. She found Mochi with me and helped split the vet bill costs. She gave me her number and said she would buy supplies for her to help us adjust to having her. I wasn’t able to give her mine since I don’t have a phone anymore, though.”

Ash feigned hurt, and said, “You got her number? I feel so betrayed. I don’t have to worry, do I?”

“Oh shut up, you know it’s nothing like that.” Eiji playfully rolled on his side, facing away from Ash.

“Aw, don’t be like that. I’m sorry,” Ash said, rolling Eiji back over to face him.

They laughed for a minute, then Eiji got comfortable resting on Ash’s chest as he did every night.

“In all seriousness, it’s nice of her to buy supplies for you,” Ash said.

Eiji hummed in agreement, already drifting off to sleep once again.

***

Eiji woke up once again to an empty bed. He tried to rub the sleepiness out of his eyes as he sat up. He then reached for the lamp beside him, twisting the switch and illuminating the room. He was surprised to find yet  _ another  _ note on the nightstand, as well as a small box. He opened the note first.

_ I’m sorry I keep having to leave. I don’t like it any more than you do, but this is the best way to get us out of here as fast as possible. I had one of the guys run and get you a phone since yours is crushed in the road somewhere. Call Ibe, he’s been worried and blowing up my phone. _

_ -Ash _

Eiji felt a chill run through his body at the mention of Ibe. He realized he up and left without a phone call to literally anyone. And what’s worse than that is that they have probably been trying to get in touch with him for the past two days.

Eiji reached for the box, opening it and pulling out a phone that looked exactly like his old one. Luckily, Eiji knew Ibe’s number by heart and was able to call him as soon as the phone turned on.

After a few moments of ringing, his mentor answered.

“Hello?”

“Ibe-san?”

“Ei-chan, is that you?”

“Yes… I’m sorry-”   
“Are you okay?? What happened?? Ash has been ignoring me.”   
“Ah, sorry about that. I can’t really get into the details for now, but I’m okay. If my family has been asking about me, just tell them I’m fine and that we decided to visit some friends in New York and that I lost my phone at the airport.”

Eiji shifted as he waited for Ibe’s response. After a few moments, he heard his mentor sigh.

“Okay. But please,  _ please _ , be careful. Ash told me some of what was happening there a few days ago, but I’m sure the situation is constantly changing, so… Just please let them handle it and stay safe.”

Eiji frowned. He hated being reminded that he was virtually useless in these situations; however, he knew that Ibe didn’t mean it like that.

“I know. I’ll be careful.”

“Could you just text me every once in a while so I know you are okay?”

“Yes.”

After a few more exchanged words, the two ended the phone call, and Eiji began his day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay, so this is the last chapter of setting up the basic groundwork in new york. i'm sorry it took me so long to update! i ran into some serious writer's block this week with this chapter, and i couldn't find a good way to end it.  
> the main source of my writer's block came with trying to figure out long term pacing of the story telling, so i decided i would ask for some opinions on how you guys want the pacing of the story to be. i have the outline of the plot ready and i know the direction the story is going, but i want to know if you guys want the pacing to be faster or slower overall. any thoughts will help, so please let me know!  
> thank you for reading! :)


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi guys! just wanted to mention that this chapter has very brief and mild descriptions of torture near the end. i tried my best to keep it pretty tame, but please keep this in mind if it could be triggering for you.

Several weeks had passed before Ash even realized it. Their search for the enemy was getting more and more hopeless by the day; Sing and Cain had had their respective gangs combing the underground of New York. Neither of them were able to find out any substantial intel regarding these people, and Cain had even pulled his gang out of the situation entirely for the time being. Ash was starting to think it might be best for them to consider that they should head back to Japan. Or, at the very least, Eiji should go back. 

But the more that Ash thought about everything, the more he realized that things just weren’t adding up. Why did they have such a strong initial attack but then let up as soon as their supposed target had come into the city? It felt like every acquaintance Ash had ever had were suffering from attacks initially; now, the enemy won’t make a real, substantial move. 

That said, Ash knew he was being followed. He had been being followed for several days now. Much to Eiji’s disappointment, Ash hadn’t been back to the hideout in days. He was at a separate one near Chinatown that they had gotten, thanks to Sing.

Was their initial attack all to just get him back here? What was their long term goal with everything?

Ash sighed, leaning back into his wooden chair at the library. He rubbed his eyes, then checked the time. He glanced at the book in front of him that he was pretending to read. He could practically feel the eyes of someone watching him burning into the back of his head. This had been the norm for him for several days, and he hated it.

He was on edge being at the library. The place that once offered him peace and a respite from his violent life now had complicated memories and feelings surrounding it. He tried to focus on reading to pass the time, but would be bombarded with intrusive thoughts about _that_ day. If he thought too long, he could almost swear that his long-since healed wound tingled. Thinking of that incident made him start to think of Eiji, which he knew he shouldn’t while he was in public; a lesson he learned the hard way from Lao. He couldn’t afford to be distracted.  
_It was the right decision to be with Eiji, right?_

The thought came into his mind and he silently cursed. Ash knew what his heart’s answer was: It would always be yes. Eiji was almost too good to be true. He knew everything that Ash had done in his life: the terrible, unthinkable things. And yet, Eiji still chose him and promised forever. His heart was happy.

But his mind wasn’t as sure. I mean, yeah, things were good enough in Japan. The two still had a lot of trauma that they needed to work through, but they were able to do it without the fear of a sudden attack. Japan had its own issues, and Ash knew it wasn’t a perfect place, but it was much safer than America. 

But Eiji is in danger now. Danger he wouldn’t be in if Ash hadn’t chosen his selfish desire to be with him. Ash had always known that something would happen one day, and that when it did, Eiji would be thrown into danger again.

Lost in his thoughts, Ash was late in his response to a presence creeping up behind him. In an instant, he swiveled around, his hand already touching the grip on the revolver in his waistband. He only eased up when he saw that it was Max who had been approaching him. He let himself get distracted after all.

Max threw his hands up playfully, causing Ash to scoff. He adjusted his body to be sitting properly in the chair again as Max took a seat across from Ash.

“How about you don’t shoot your dear old dad, okay?” Max said as he got settled.

“Hard not to,” Ash replied sarcastically, feeling the tension slowly leaving his body. He took a deep breath and tried to relax. 

“You okay?” Max asked, his eyes scrutinizing Ash’s expressions and body language.

Now this makes twice that Max has been able to read Ash. He frowned.

“Yeah, I’m good. Just a bit on edge,” Ash said, sighing. He earned a sympathetic expression from Max that he didn’t want, and turned his head away from him. “I forgot you were coming,” he mumbled. 

Max seemed to notice Ash’s discomfort, and nodded, trying to act normally. “You? Forgetting something? I thought you were a genius or something.”

Ash gave his best glare at Max, causing Max to laugh. Neither of the two spoke for a few moments. Max barely broke the silence as he muttered to Ash, “Still being followed?” He grabbed the book in front of Ash, pretending to point something out on one of the pages.

Ash nodded, quietly replying back, “Yeah. They still won’t come out though.”

“What should we do?” Max asked, keeping the same volume. He flipped the page of the book.

Ash sighed. “I guess I need to force things along.” Ash promptly shut the book, the sudden noise causing Max to jump slightly. “Well, let’s get lunch. I’ve been waiting for you for hours now, you know,” Ash said, his normal tone and volume returning.

Max rolled his eyes as he stood up, his voice playful. “You wouldn’t understand the responsibilities an adult has.”

Ash raised an eyebrow, smirking. “Yeah? Like what? Writing shitty columns?”

Max clicked his tongue, walking alongside Ash. “Bratty teenager.”

***

Eiji had spent the past few weeks doing much of the same activities. Ash and Alex had started coming back less and less, making Eiji a bit on edge. Max was around every day, though, and would assure Eiji that Ash was fine. It helped on the surface, but it didn’t help him get any sleep at night.

Eiji made a conscious effort to call his sister and Ibe at least once or twice a week. The last thing he needed was his mom getting on a plane and dragging Eiji out of New York for fear of another life-threatening injury. After throwing around a few suggestions, Eiji, Ibe, and Max eventually came up with a somewhat believable lie about why the two had suddenly come back to the city. Eiji told his family that Max had gotten ill, and Ash needed to be near him, considering Max was like a father to him. Eiji’s family was incredibly sympathetic, probably due to the fact that Eiji’s own father had chronic health issues. His sister seemed to not believe the lie, though; she always pressed him on the phone, trying to get more details out of Eiji when the two were alone. He didn’t have the heart to tell her what was going on.

Eiji found that he was having to lie a lot these days. He currently found himself sitting in a cafe, sipping on some lightly-colored coffee while talking to May. Even though Eiji had forced May to stop buying supplies for Mochi, the two (with Bones and Kong nearby) would meet up once or twice a week, depending on May’s schedule with work. Ash wasn’t thrilled about him going out unnecessarily, but ultimately decided Eiji shouldn’t be confined to the hideout all day long. There were a few rules, though.

_Ash sighed, rubbing his temples as he sat on the edge of the bed. “Fine, Eiji. You’re an adult, and it’s wrong of me to force you to stay here.”_

_Eiji felt a pang of guilt, and he walked over to stand in front of Ash. “No, I understand why. It’s not very safe…”_

_Ash was seeming to have an internal conflict. He clenched his fists, then relaxed them, meeting Eiji’s dark eyes with his sharp green ones._

_“You’re right. This is probably the dumbest thing I’ve ever allowed to happen,” Ash paused, and Eiji waited for the follow-up statement. “_ But _I would rather you not try and go out behind my back and make a mistake. So I’ll make some ground rules up front.”_

_Eiji nodded, deciding not to argue with the phrasing of Ash’s sentence._

_“You can’t bring her to the hideout, or even let her near it. You have to bring at least one person with you when you go out. Don’t meet up with her at the same location every time, make sure you alternate between several different places. Make sure it’s crowded. Wearing sunglasses or a hat wouldn’t be the worst idea ever.”_

_Eiji rolled his eyes. “Anything else?”_

_Ash frowned. “Actually, yes.” He stood up, now looking down just a bit at Eiji with an intense expression. The dark-haired boy felt his heart flutter just a bit._

_“Yes?” He asked, surprised he didn’t stammer._

_Ash stared at him just a moment longer, then sighed and wrapped his arms around him, resting his head on the space between Eiji’s shoulder and neck. “Please be careful. I won’t forgive myself if something happens to you.”_

“Eiji? You listening?”

Eiji blinked, realizing he had been completely wrapped up in his thoughts. The sounds of the coffee shop, which he had been unintentionally tuning out, became more pronounced. May was waving her hand in front of him, an amused expression painting her face.

“Sorry, what did you say?”

She chuckled a bit. “You’ve been distracted today. Is something bothering you?”

Eiji hesitated, considering his words. “I - well, it’s just been a long few weeks,” he finally said. He didn’t want to reveal too much about Ash, and hadn’t even mentioned his name to May yet. She had a concerned look on her face, which prompted Eiji to add, “I’m really okay though!” He had a bit of a flustered look on his face, he was certain of it. He was pretty bad about talking about his problems, especially with someone he’s only known a few weeks.

May looked unconvinced. Eiji was glad she didn’t press too hard, but was surprised when she said, “You know, you remind me a lot of my little sister.”

He blinked. This was the first time she had mentioned a sister. “Really? How?”

“I can’t really put my finger on it…” she said, looking up in thought. “It’s your demeanor, I think.”

“You hadn’t mentioned you have a sister,” he said, leaning back. “What’s her name?”

“Lucy. She’s four years younger than me,” May said, now looking out the window they were sitting beside. “She doesn’t live in the city.”

Eiji nodded slowly, wondering if he should ask more about her. May’s attitude seemed to shift when she talked about her sister - she seemed much more dejected.

“Does she live with your parents still?”

“Kinda. She lives with our aunt and uncle up north, and they raised us so they’re basically our parents.”

“That’s nice! Do you visit a lot?”

May shook her head, a sad smile on her face. “No, I can’t. She has an autoimmune problem so it can be dangerous to visit, especially since I live in the city.”

Eiji found himself at a loss for words, trying to figure out the best approach. Finally, he decided on, “My dad has chronic health issues, so I understand how hard it can be to have a family member who is very ill.”

She nodded, her expression full of understanding. “The financial strain is a lot on my aunt and uncle, so as soon as I was able, I came here to work.” 

As she finished this sentence, her phone vibrated. She pulled it out of her pocket, then said, “Speaking of work, that’s my cue. Gotta get back to it.” She began gathering her things, then stood up. “I’ll talk to you later.”

He nodded and waved. “Yeah, be careful!”

She smiled and walked out of the bustling coffeeshop. Shortly after she left, Eiji saw two familiar faces come over and sit across from him.

“Ready to head back?” Bones asked, casually keeping an eye on their surroundings.

Eiji looked at his phone, seeing the time was 4:45. “Yes, but I still need to go by the store to get some ingredients for dinner. It shouldn’t take too long.”

“You’re the boss,” Kong said, watching Eiji get up.

Eiji found himself laughing at the comment. “I’m the boss? I’ll tell Ash that next time I see him.”

***

By the end of the day, Ash found himself still being followed. His original plan had worked partly; establishing a public “routine” had ended up getting _someone_ to find him. What he didn’t expect, however, was this person to never make a fucking move. It was time to handle things in the best way he could. 

The sun was setting, and there weren’t many others on the sidewalks. Ash had intentionally gone to a quieter section of the city, near a set of alleys he knew very well. He increased his pace gradually, eventually turning sharply around the next corner. He waited for a moment, his back pressed to a grungy brick wall. He took a deep breath, taking in the familiar, almost musty, scent of New York’s back alleys. The cold November air stung his lungs a bit. It wasn’t long until a person had made their way around the corner, pausing and frantically looking around. Ash grabbed them quickly, dragging them into the shadows of the alley, twisting their arms in an uncomfortable position behind their back and ultimately pushing them into the ground.

“Who are you?” Ash questioned, trying to keep his tone even. There was little risk in this situation; Alex and several of his men were nearby, keeping an eye on things as they unfolded. Ash instructed them to not reveal themselves unless called for.

“Uh, wait, please,” the man said from the ground, his speech sounding slightly muffled. “I was just told to follow you. I swear, I have no idea what’s going on! Please let me go!”

Ash furrowed his brow, disbelieving. “You _really_ expect me to believe that? What do you take me for?” Ash twisted the man’s arm further, almost reaching a breaking point.

The man screamed and tried to writhe out of Ash’s grip. “I swear! Please! The-the man who approached me, he said he would k-kill me if I didn’t do what he said!” The man sounded as if he were on the verge of tears. Either he was telling the truth or he was a very good liar. 

Ash loosened his grip, just a bit. He looked down at this man’s hands, grabbing his fingers.

The pads of his fingers were perfectly intact.

“Shit,” he muttered. Ash released his grip, and the man got up slowly, his whole body shaking. Ash felt slightly guilty, but pushed these feelings aside for the time being.

“The man who made you follow me, what did he look like? Do you know where he is right now?”

The man nodded eagerly, tears threatening to spill over his waterline. “He was nearby. P-please, you have to help me.” 

“Just calm down, I’ll get you help. Tell me what you know,” Ash pressed.

“He had buzzed hair and a face mask on. He got me an hour or so ago. He said that he wouldn’t be far-”

The man was cut off by a deafening _bang_. The noise felt amplified in the alleyway. For a moment, Ash wasn’t sure what had happened, but he looked at the man’s chest and saw it blooming red. The man looked stunned for a moment as he looked at his own chest. His eyes rolled back in his head as he began to collapse. Ash’s eyes widened, catching him as he fell. He gently lowered him to the ground, trying to ignore the tears that had finally fallen down the man’s face. His blood felt warm and sticky on Ash’s hands, and he pushed down the unexpected wave of nausea he felt suddenly. He removed his jacket and pressed it firmly onto the wound, although he was almost certain the man wouldn’t survive for longer than a few minutes.

He caught movement in his peripheral vision, and managed to look up just in time to see someone sprint deeper into the alley.

“Alex!”

Alex, followed by his men, stormed into the alley. Ash shot up, leaving Alex to deal with the man. His death would not be in vain. He took off after the shooter, his gun already out of his waistband.

He turned the corner, sliding a bit when his shoes lost traction, and caught a glimpse of the man’s shadow as he went around the next corner.

Ash pressed his legs to run faster - faster than they’ve needed to go in months. The jogs he and Eiji went on most mornings were not even close to keeping him in the shape he needed to be in while he was Ash Lynx.

Realizing Ash was on his heels, the man whipped around and fired several shots haphazardly. They bounced around Ash, one grazing his shoulder. Ash had his gun up almost immediately, giving no thought to the warm pain in his shoulder. He fired a single shot at one of the man’s legs.

He heard a telling cry of pain at the end of the alley following the bang. He hadn’t lost his aim, apparently.

He jogged to the man, who was now lying on the ground, clutching his thigh. Seeing Ash, he desperately fumbled for his gun, which Ash kicked away just before his fingers made contact. Ash had his revolver trained on the man’s head. Getting a closer look, he matched the vague description he was able to get out of that guy from before. This man had a buzzed head and a face mask on, which Ash yanked off.

The man glared at Ash as he applied pressure to his bleeding thigh.

“Who the hell are you?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know, Lynx?” The man rasped in reply.

Ash reared his leg up, kicking the man in the face. He let out another cry of pain, lying on his side. His lip was bleeding.

“Try again.”

“You _actually_ think I’d talk to you? I heard you were a genius or something, but apparently you’re as stupid as they come.”

Ash paused, staring at the man. “Apparently, you aren’t that scared of death. I get it, I was that way too,” Ash said, crouching down to the man’s eye level. “Fortunately for us, I know things that are worse than dying. I won’t let you off easily. Not until you’ve told me everything I need.” The man stared at Ash, confusion faintly present on his sharp features. Ash then dug his finger into the man’s bullet wound.

A part of Ash’s conscience was telling him to stop. The other part knew he couldn’t - not until he had gotten the information he had been desperately chasing after for weeks. 

Ash felt as if he were a spectator in the situation, watching the scene unfold from afar. Anytime he had to use methods of torture on someone, this was how he coped. It was familiar - too familiar for his liking.

When Ash showed no signs of letting up, the man finally started to budge.

“Fine!” he finally managed, in between gasps and cries of pain. “Stop, I’ll tell you!” 

Ash slowly withdrew his hand, keeping the man under the scrutiny of his gun.

“It doesn’t matter who I am. It won’t do you any good,” the man said, panting.

“Then tell me what will,” Ash replied, his voice icy.

The man took a shaky breath, his instincts and emotions clearly at war with one another. Apparently, his instinct of self-preservation won. “Our hideout. A bunch of us are at a warehouse just under the Overpass in Manhattan,” he relented. “There, now let me go.”

Ash scoffed. “Not enough information. Who is your boss?”

The man looked at Ash, hesitating before answering. “I can’t tell you.”

Ash cocked the hammer of his revolver slowly, making sure to point at the man’s other leg.

The man had a frantic expression, his tone pleading. He spoke quickly. “I won’t tell you about the boss, but… I know something more important.”

“More important than your boss? Right,” Ash said, disbelieving.

Ash heard footsteps approaching from behind, and Alex found his way to his side.

“Yes. To you, it’s more important.”

Ash searched the man’s eyes, searching for signs of deceit. When he found none, he nodded for the man to continue. He pulled himself into an upright position before doing so.

“They made me keep you preoccupied these past few days. You stopped going to your main hideout. Of course, I knew you were trying to bait me the whole time. But before I let you notice my presence, I had been watching. Watching more than I think you realize,” the man paused, finding newfound confidence in watching Ash’s blase expression beginning to falter. “Your efforts were in vain. They know where your main hideout is,” the man said, the last of his fear dissipating into a small smile on his bloodied lips.

Ash’s breath hitched, feeling his blood run cold. He gripped the handle of his revolver a bit tighter as he tried to control his breaths. 

When Ash failed to speak, the man continued, his tone jeering. “That boy you like really is cute. Eiji, right? I don’t swing that way, but I get it-”

The man was cut off by Ash punching him directly in the jaw. His fists were met with a sickening crunch upon connection. Ash couldn’t hear or think straight - a white fury guided his actions in this moment. 

This man knew that Eiji is what would send Ash completely over the edge. He almost always had his emotions in check; something Blanca taught him very well. Cold indifference is important, especially in situations like this. Indifference allows you the upper-hand, always. With Eiji, however, things were different. They were always different with Eiji.

“You don’t get to say his name,” Ash said, barely masking his rage.

The man laughed, blood dribbling from his mouth. “You look upset, Ash.”

Ash reared his arm up to hit him again, but felt a hand close around his wrist.

Ash whipped his head around, meeting Alex’s eyes.

“Ash, you have to calm down. If you kill him now, we’ll never get everything we need,” he said, his voice steady.

Ash took a deep breath, trying to control his emotions. He could practically see Blanca in front of him, disappointed in Ash’s show of emotion.

When he regained his composure, he looked down again.

“Finish. I won’t give you more than a minute,” Ash said, his anger replaced by the tone of cold indifference he had been searching for. 

The arrogant look that the man had slowly left when he saw he lost the advantage. Ash was in control of the situation once again.

“It’s too late, probably. They made sure you were gone, along with your entourage,” he said, vaguely gesturing to Alex’s crew. “That boy is basically alone at that hideout, save for a few of your men.”

Ash was ripped from his previous position of a spectator in that moment. He was painfully aware of how he felt like he couldn’t breathe, as well as the white fog that had come into his mind. Without thought, he aimed directly at the man’s head, took a single shot, and abandoned the alley. He didn’t have time to register the way that the dried blood felt on his hands, or the way he jumped over the body of the man from earlier. All he knew was that he needed to reach the hideout by any means necessary.

It was in these past five minutes that Ash realized that he had left Aslan Callenreese in Japan, long-forgotten. He hoped he could leave Ash Lynx in New York when this was all over.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> rose from the ashes to post this chapter, haha. november decided to stomp on my mental health, which was super fun and nice <3 because of that, i had a shitty mental health induced writer's block when trying to get this chapter out. sorry it took a minute!  
> some good news though is that it is currently thanksgiving break, so i will have some downtime to work on the next chapter. i have a lot of it written, actually, so there's a good chance it'll be out very soon!  
> after thanksgiving break, which ends next sunday, i'll have a busy couple of weeks with finals, but then i'll be on my month-long christmas break! i plan to spend a lot of my downtime working on the story, which i'm super excited for :)  
> kudos/comments are very appreciated! thank you guys for reading!


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! A few warnings for this chapter: Stabbing, choking, general violence, descriptions of blood, minor character death, house fire, and gunshots. Don't worry, everything will be okay for our main characters though, so please rest assured! My stories will always have happy endings!  
> I will try and start every chapter with specific chapter warnings, and if I missed anything in specific, please let me know and I will add it to the list.

Ash mentally thanked himself for having Alex bring a bike as he threw his leg over it. His mind was racing as he turned the key, the bike roaring as it started. He tried getting a hold of not only Eiji, but also Bones and Kong several times while racing to where Alex had parked. With a piercing screech of rubber on asphalt, he sped off into the streets, weaving himself into the busy New York traffic. 

He felt like he couldn’t breathe as he replayed his brief conversation with that man. The city was all but a colorful blur as he raced to the hideout, and the noise of busy nightlife sounded almost like static.

Ash knew he could very well be walking into a trap, and honestly? The chances were pretty high that it was, in fact, a trap. But he found himself not caring. He would never forgive himself if the person he was in love with got hurt because of his actions.

In love? Yeah. Definitely. But that was something to be unpacked later.

He mentally cursed, trying not to allow himself to imagine the worst. They would be okay. They had to be okay.

With extreme mental effort, Ash slowed his thoughts, trying to channel the eerie calm that he used to feel in high-stress situations. With several controlled, deep breaths, his heart rate seemed to level out and his mind felt sharper. 

Kong and Bones, despite their sometimes playful demeanors, are very capable subordinates. Ash didn’t trust very many people to stay with Eiji. In fact, there were only a handful of people that he trusted in general. He knew that in the event of something like this happening, Eiji would be all right with them. Hopefully, they had already taken Eiji to a new location, one that was safe.

Ash wasn’t sure what brought him out of his own head at that moment. He realized his body had been on autopilot for the past few minutes, and he was very close to the hideout. He swerved the bike onto one of the nearby side streets, and in a fluid motion, jumped off, leaving it behind without a second thought as he raced into the alleyways.   
Despite the hurry he was in, he wasn’t stupid. He didn’t rush in with no regard for his surroundings. His body was hyper-aware of every noise and shadow. That was how he was able to tell what had happened - or, what was currently happening - before he even got there.

Upon stepping into the alley, he noticed a smoky smell in the air. It was faint, but it was definitely present.

A fire. Right in the vicinity of the hideout. 

With his gun drawn, Ash went as quickly and as safely as he could towards the hideout. With each alley cleared, the scent of smoke became sharper. The sense of dread he had been trying to ignore up until this point weighed heavily in his stomach. He rounded the last corner and was met with the hideout, and he was surprised to have not run into anyone. At first glance, the building didn’t seem to be different, but looking closer, he could see black smoke starting to pour out of the cracks of the building.

_ It hasn’t been overtaken by the fire yet. Good. _

Although the building hadn’t been consumed by fire, it was only a matter of time. The old, dry wood would only encourage the flames to spread at a rapid rate. He had to be fast. Ash closed his eyes and took his last deep breath of clean air as he approached the building. He opened his eyes, then kicked down the door, forging into the smoky hallway.

Ash allowed himself no hesitation as he checked the rooms in the entry hallway, ignoring the stinging of his eyes and lungs. The fire wasn’t in the entryway of the building, meaning someone had walked to the very back of the building to start it. Based on the progress of the fire, they couldn’t be far, either.

Ash kicked the door of their bedroom in, coughing as he took a deeper breath than intended. 

“Eiji! Are you here?” he yelled, surprised by his voice being able to carry as well as it did. 

Their room had their belongings still stuffed into it, but none of the three men were anywhere to be seen. 

He called again, this time for Kong and Bones, but was cut off quickly by a fit of painful coughing from the thickening, dark smoke. He couldn’t keep yelling like that, it wasn’t doing any good. Even if they are here, they probably won’t be able to hear him.

Ash regained his composure, blinking through fresh tears. As he cleared all of the entryway rooms, he pressed deeper into the hideout, feeling the heat becoming more intense as he neared the large main room. The door was already open to that room.

Ash gripped the handle of his revolver a bit tighter, cautiously entering the room. Using the door as cover, he assessed the room, searching for any signs of life. The fire was still relatively contained, concentrated near the fireplace in the back of the room. With the amount of smoke in the building, Ash expected a much larger fire. The bright flames were steadily branching out towards the old couches.

He knew someone had to be in the building. He would have run into someone fleeing the scene on his way in, and the flames were not as big as he thought they would be.

He averted his gaze from the fire, knowing he needed to start searching the areas of the room he couldn’t immediately observe from behind the door. He entered the room fully, heading first to the small kitchenette tucked in the far corner of the room. He didn’t see anyone at first glance, but a muddy footprint leading into the area caught his attention. 

Eiji would never have left this building with a stain like that on the floor. He highly valued cleanliness, and Ash wouldn’t be surprised if he tried to get the others to remove their shoes while in the building. This footprint was definitely from the intruder.

Ash had this thought a moment too late. He saw a blur out of the corner of his eye, followed by a sharp pain of a boot connecting with his abdomen. Ash’s gun clattered to the ground along with his body. As he slammed into the ground, the air was taken from his lungs, and his vision blackened at the corners as he struggled to suck in the fresh air. Before the attacker could land another hit, Ash rolled away, narrowly missing a punch directly to his face. He pulled himself off the ground, staring at the newcomer. Of course, they had a fucking mask on. He tried to swallow a violent coughing fit from inhaling too much of the smoke, mentally cursing himself for allowing an opening, but shook the thoughts away quickly.

His assailant gave him almost no time to recover, making another charge at the blonde. Ash dove out of the way, trying to get closer to his gun. He needed to end this quickly. The fire wasn’t going to wait for anyone. The flames had already begun to consume the couches. 

The attacker recovered from the missed charge once again, giving Ash a glare over his mask. The man pulled out a knife and twisted it between his fingers.

“That feels a little unfair that you get a weapon  _ and  _ a mask,” Ash sardonically remarked, coughing again.

The attacker made no response, once again lunging. Ash was ready this time and quickly glided out of the way of the attacker. The blonde then grabbed the arm holding the knife and used the momentum the man had built up to send him plummeting into the ground.

Ash wasted no time disarming the man and stealing his weapon. He knelt on the man’s back, pinning a twisted arm under his knee, grabbed him by his hair, and held the knife to his throat. A thin stream of blood began to trickle down his throat.

“I’ll give you about three seconds to tell me where my friends are.”

The man made no response, prompting Ash to start a countdown.

“ _ 1 _ ,” he started, pressing the knife more firmly into his throat.

No answer.

“ _ 2 _ ,”

No answer.

Ash narrowed his watering eyes, gripping the knife a bit tighter. 

“I warned you-”

Ash never got to finish his sentence, cut off by a sharp stabbing feeling on the side of his leg. He hissed in pain, turning his head to see a small knife sticking out of the side of his thigh. The attacker, using the arm Ash hadn’t pinned, had managed to stab him with a small concealed knife.

Using Ash’s surprise, the man escaped Ash’s grasp, immediately going to pin him.

Ash didn’t have enough time to react as the man pinned him down.

“You’re just not as good as you think you are, Lynx,” the man taunted with a gravelly voice. 

Ash tried to ignore the throbbing in his leg as he glared at the man. 

The man was rambling, but it was hard for Ash to concentrate on whatever he was saying; between the smoky burn in his lungs and the self-deprecating thoughts of ‘ _ how the hell did you let this happen _ ’, the man’s words seemed trivial. 

The fire was only growing stronger, spreading at a much more rapid pace by the minute. In fact, most of the room that the two stood in had been overtaken by the flames now. It wouldn’t be long before the fire reached the spot they were at, and Ash was certain that the smoke was now visible outside. They would be drawing attention to themselves soon, and the last thing Ash needed was to deal with law enforcement. Legally, he’s pretty sure he’s supposed to be dead. 

The smoke started to make him feel lightheaded. Where was his gun? 

Ash scanned the floor space around him, searching for the weapon. His eyes finally landed on the small revolver; it was just barely within reach. Ash’s arms were pinned, but if he could kick hard enough with his good leg, he could probably squirm out of the man’s grasp, using the surprise of the moment to his advantage. There could be no hesitation or mistakes.

Ash’s attention was pulled back to the man as he shifted the knife in Ash’s leg. 

“You really think you can be staring off into space right now? Tell me, what could  _ possibly _ be more important than your life?” the attacker rasped, watching as Ash grimaced from the pain.

Now or never.

Ash hardened his gaze and kicked his legs as hard as he could. It had the intended effect; the attacker loosened his grip in surprise  _ just _ enough for Ash to break free. Ignoring all of his ailments, he rolled to grab the gun, grasping the familiar handle in just seconds. As he raised it to shoot from his position on the ground, he realized the man had already recovered and shoved the barrel down. Somehow in the struggle, the gun was fired, but the bullet went straight through the floor rather than the attacker’s head. 

Fuck. 

The man pinned Ash much more harshly this time, but instead of pinning Ash by the arms, he wrapped his hands tightly around Ash’s throat. The gun had been knocked far out of reach this time, it was all the way over by the entrance. His breathing was totally cut off, and a flare of panic shot through him. He had already been lightheaded from the smoke, but now it was much worse.

His head was throbbing, his lungs were screaming, and his leg was burning. His vision started to blacken around the edges. Ash started scratching the man’s arms, but he felt his strength leaving his arms.

Was he seriously going to die? This wasn’t how he had always pictured his death. This wasn’t how he thought he would  _ feel  _ when he was dying. He had never feared dying, so why was he so scared right now?

He asked that, but of course he knew why he was scared. Life had finally just become worth living. He had never been happier. He realized that if there was a god, they were incredibly cruel to have let him survive his stabbing. He got a taste of happiness, and now it was going to be gone.

_ I’m so sorry, Eiji. _

****

Eiji, Kong, and Bones were walking back to the hideout, arms full of groceries. This was a far cry from how things had been since the last time he had been in New York, but Eiji was insistent on cooking rather than getting takeout. The other two didn’t seem to mind, and usually looked forward to Eiji’s meals.

Unfortunately, the three had lost track of time today, staying out far later than intended. The sky was dark as they walked on the sidewalks, which were getting less and less crowded as they neared the hideout. A saffron haze from the nearby streetlights enveloped the sidewalk they were on.

Eiji’s phone had died about an hour ago, and he was looking forward to getting back so he could plug it in and text Ash. The blonde had promised he would try and visit the main hideout soon, so he was hopeful that “soon” meant tonight.

Mochi would be happy to finally have some company today, too. They really had been gone far longer than they meant to be.

“Have either of you heard from anyone today?” Eiji asked, trying not to sound too hopeful.

“No, not much. Alex said this morning that they were going to be doing something about the stalker today, so they may be able to come back relatively soon,” Bones replied.

Eiji was about to ask another question as Kong spoke up.

“Do you guys see that?”

“See what?” Bones asked, his tone becoming a bit more serious and tense.

“That smoke,” he replied, gesturing to the sky.

The three paused for a moment, looking very closely. With the sky getting darker, it was hard to see, but sure enough, there was a plume of smoke on the skyline. Eiji was about to brush it off, but was quickly filled with dread. 

“You don’t think…?” Kong started.

“It has to be the hideout. Nothing else that’s actively being used is even close,” Bones interjected, urgency filling his tone. “Call the boss.”

Eiji’s mind was elsewhere. Mochi was in the hideout, and no one was there. Was this an attack or an accident? They could’ve left something burning without realizing, but…

Eiji whipped around as Bones pulled his phone out. He hurriedly set the brown paper bags down in front of them, getting ready to run. 

“I have to go, Mochi is locked in there,” Eiji gasped, trying to leave no room for arguing.

“No way, you can’t! One of us will do it,” Kong reasoned, meeting Eiji’s nervous eyes.

Eiji shook his head. “I’m the fastest one out of the three of us. She’s my responsibility, too, so I have to.”

“Shit,” Bones muttered, swiping the screen on his phone. “Boss tried to call several times about ten minutes ago, can’t be a coincidence.”

Eiji didn’t have time for this. He spun on his heels and sprinted ahead. They weren’t that far, but it would still take him five minutes at least to get there if he ran as fast as he could manage.    
“Eiji! No, wait!”

Eiji mentally apologized, but kept his pace. His mind was racing as he weaved through the now-familiar grungy alleyways. It would be bad if this wasn’t an accident, and Eiji knew he may be running right to the enemy. But if it was an accidental fire and he let his poor cat die? No, that was out of the question.

He cursed himself for not charging his phone up more this morning before leaving. Ash might’ve tried calling him earlier, too. 

Eiji was shocked that he was able to reach the hideout as quickly as he did. He would have to tell Ash that his morning runs were useful, after all.

Sure enough, black smoke was billowing out of the old building. Eiji was out of breath, but felt like he didn’t have time to catch it. From the look of the smoke, the fire was already pretty big. He would be lucky to find Mochi in time.

He jogged to the front door, noticing upon getting closer that it was already open, which was… definitely odd. That contributed to the theory that the fire was intentional. Not wasting anymore time, Eiji slipped into the burning building, trying to cover his nose and mouth with his elbow. The smoke was overwhelming; he could feel its effects almost immediately. He walked through the entrance hall, pressing forward to his and Ash’s bedroom. Mochi’s favorite place in the house was their room, and if he was lucky, she was still there. 

As he approached the door, he found that it, too, was ajar. He swallowed thickly, hoping he wasn’t about to be ambushed as he walked into the room. 

There was nothing noticeably out of the ordinary (other than the smoke, of course). Relaxing just a bit, he began his rushed search for the small cat. She wasn’t on the bed or in the bathroom, and he was about to move to the next room when he heard a quiet noise. He paused, listening carefully. 

He heard the noise again -- this time, he could say with certainty that it was a  _ meow _ . He crouched low, looking under the bed. Sure enough, little Mochi was cowering under the bed. 

He clicked his tongue and tapped his fingers on the floor, trying to coax her out of her hiding place. Eiji held his breath, not wanting to startle her with the coughs that were building in his lungs.

As Mochi began a slow crawl towards Eiji, he felt relief rush through his body. 

The relief was soon replaced with fear as a deafening  _ bang  _ resounded through the building. Eiji flinched at the unmistakable noise of gunfire, and Mochi startled, darting from her hiding place under the bed and out of the door. Eiji moved quickly to try and catch her, but by the time he got up, she had already run out of the building. 

He was tempted to follow her, but his feet were glued to the ground. Of course, he knew that he needed to run away from the hideout as fast as he could. He could practically hear Ash in his mind telling him to leave.

Logically, he should leave; so why was he walking towards the main room of the hideout? Ash was going to kill him if whatever shot the gun didn’t kill him first.

It was hard to see anything in the room - between Eiji’s watering eyes and the thick smoke, he could barely see a foot in front of him. The fire was impossible to not see, however; the smoke was colored amber and glowing.

He carefully walked forward a few steps, trying to make sense of the shapes that were on the floor ahead of him. As he approached, his foot connected with an object on the ground. He looked down, seeing a gun on the floor. He bent over, grasping the weapon, and felt his blood run cold despite the uncomfortable heat from flames.

This was assuredly Ash’s gun.

He could feel his heart pounding as he approached the figures on the ground, which were undoubtedly people engaged in a struggle. 

Despite the smoke, he gasped painfully, realizing what was happening. Ash was lying on the ground, weakly scratching the arms of an attacker that Eiji couldn’t see the face of. 

His breaths came in short, uneven pants. For some reason, in that moment, all Eiji could think of was the night Ash left. He never told him that he loved him. He had all this time, and he still didn’t do it. Would he even get another chance? Before he had any time to fully register what he was doing, he raised Ash’s gun and pulled the trigger. 

He was close enough to the two to hit his target. Because his back was turned to Eiji, he couldn’t see exactly what happened or his expression, but he saw the man lift his hands from Ash’s throat, right before collapsing.

Ash violently coughed from his place on the ground, immediately grasping at his neck. He tried propping himself up on his elbows, and finally looked up.

Eiji hadn’t moved, the gun still pointed vaguely in the direction of Ash. Realizing Ash was staring, he dropped the gun as if it had burned him.

“Eiji?” Ash managed, his voice strained. 

Eiji couldn’t break eye contact. He couldn’t speak. He was still frozen. He sprang forward  _ only  _ when Ash lost consciousness. 

He rushed to his side, kneeling on the old wood. With trembling hands, Eiji reached for Ash’s neck, feeling for a pulse. He tried to not look at the violet bruises that were starting to become visible. His fingers were met with a small, steady beat.

He quickly drew back, allowing a moment of relief. He then turned around, looking at the man that he had shot.

The man’s eyes were glazed over, vacant. His eyes reminded Eiji of how Shorter’s looked on  _ that  _ night.

He reached for his neck, feeling for a pulse that he knew he wouldn’t find. 

Eiji leaned on his other hand, trying to get a better look at the man, and felt his hand slide on something warm and sticky. Looking down, his gaze was met with blood, and a lot of it.

His stomach churned, somehow now only smelling the sharp, metallic scent of iron rather than the smoke. 

He began coughing again, feeling overcome with panic as he looked at his surroundings.

The fire was all around them. He only had a minute or two at most to leave the room through the entrance. He glanced back at the blonde, who had a pained expression on his face, despite being unconscious. How long had Ash been exposed to the smoke?

Trying to ignore the blood, Eiji forced himself to flip the dead attacker over. As he thought, the man was wearing a face mask. Eiji yanked it off quickly, not wanting to look too long at the man’s face. He then transferred it to Ash, securing it behind his ears. 

After the mask was on, Eiji lifted Ash off the ground and onto his back. As he rose from the floor, the smoke became overwhelming once again. Dizziness began to overtake him as he slowly approached the door. Eiji felt like his arms and legs were being seared as he walked near the growing flames. Although he felt weak, the fire was acting as a good motivator to get out of the building. 

“Ash! Eiji! Where are you?”

Eiji blinked at the sudden voice. In his daze, it took a moment, but he was able to identify the voice.

“Max! Back here!” 

Eiji broke into another coughing fit, leaning against the doorframe. Within a moment, Max’s figure approached him. 

Max assessed the situation quickly, his gaze flickering between Ash’s unconscious body and Eiji. 

“Give me him,” he finally instructed, already moving to take Ash. “Is that your blood?”

Eiji complied, allowing Max to take Ash. At first, he was confused, but then looked down.

He was covered in blood.

“N-no,” he finally managed. He really had killed someone. 

Max’s gaze lingered just a moment longer, then he turned. “Can you walk?”

Eiji wordlessly nodded, coughing once again. 

Max led the way, checking over his shoulder to make sure Eiji was keeping up. Within a few moments, the three had emerged from the building, the fresh air coming as a much needed relief. 

Eiji doubled over after walking a few feet, trying desperately to catch his breath. His chest felt tight, and he wasn’t sure that it was entirely because of the smoke.

“Eiji, there’s no time,” Max called, his voice laced with both concern and urgency. 

Slowly, Eiji became upright again, and followed Max into the alley. The first few turns were the same ones that he was used to, but Max turned to walk a new direction abruptly. After walking in silence for a few moments, Eiji finally spotted Kong, Bones, and Alex ahead. Kong was holding a frightened Mochi in his arms.

Max set Ash down gently against the wall of the alley, checking him for injuries. Eiji numbly stared ahead, his eyes trailing over Ash. He saw the bruises around his throat and felt his stomach begin to churn again.

He slid down the opposite alley wall, keeping his eyes on Ash. 

“What happened?” Alex prompted, looking at Eiji.

Eiji’s throat felt tight. Why was this happening?

“I went to the hideout to find Mochi because we saw the fire, but I heard a gunshot when I got there. Ash was in the main room with… some man... he was being choked, he was  _ dying _ , and I-”

Eiji paused. This shouldn’t be hard. That was a bad person. A bad person that was trying to kill Ash. Eiji didn’t feel this way when he shot Dino. What was different?

“The man is dead,” Eiji finally murmured, realizing that they were waiting on him to finish.

Max finished his brief examination of Ash. “There’s almost nothing we can do for him right now. Our best bet is to get to our secondary hideout in Chinatown.”

“He’s okay, right?” Bones asked.

“I think he’ll be fine. It’s a good thing you called, Alex,” Max concluded, going to lift Ash again. 

He was glad that Ash would be okay, but for some reason, the statement didn’t do much to soothe the uncomfortable heavy feeling in Eiji’s chest.

“You brought a car, right?” Alex asked, glancing briefly at Eiji’s current state.

With a brief nod, Max said, “Follow me.”

Eiji stared at the drying blood staining his clothes and hands, still dazed. Bones looked at him for a moment, before reaching down to help support him. The group followed Max to the car, which was parked at an empty lot nearby. 

The drive to the hideout was silent.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Long time no see everyone! First of all, I am so sorry that it took me this long to release this chapter. I've been really struggling with getting these written for some reason; literally, I stared at the google doc for like thirty minutes with just the word 'Ash' written on it. I don't want to make promises about an updating schedule since I am plagued with writer's block, but I promise I'll release the next part as soon as possible.  
> Also, I have decided to rename this story! I'm in between a few ideas, but just a heads up that I'll be doing that soon!  
> I also just wanted to throw out there that even if it takes me a while to release the chapter, I promise that this story is not abandoned unless I specifically say that! I would for sure release a chapter explaining the situation if something like that were to happen, so please rest assured that even if it takes a while, I'm working on the chapters :)  
> I've had this chapter planned for a few months, so I was super excited to write it. I've considered pre-writing the chapters instead of just having an outline and releasing as I finish, but I'm too impatient for that and tend to release the chapters immediately after they've been beta read by my sibling, the lovely Novabird  
> Next time, get ready for some hurt/comfort and a chapter (or two, I love them so much) dedicated to Eiji and Ash spending time together!

**Author's Note:**

> End of the first chapter! I'll try my best to have chapter 2 out as soon as I can.


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